Galactic Conquest: Imperial Army
by K2JC
Summary: A Galaxy at War. Two sides battle it out for supremacy. One fights to free the Galaxy from oppression through chaos. The other fights to maintain order through fear. Only one shall stand as the victor and rule over the Galaxy.
1. Galactic Conquest: Imperial Army Ch 1

**_A/N: So this is actually something that I just wanted to write. Doesn't really have anything to do with canon. I just really wanted to write about battles, I guess. Anyway. As the title says, think of this as Galactic Conquest from Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2005) and other succeeding Battlefronts before the EA ones. So not really canon. Just battle after battle until the Galaxy is yours. That's all I really got to say about this fic other than say: Hope you somehow enjoy this. Toodles~_**

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"1st Platoon, be advised. Sector looks clear. One minute until touchdown."

"Copy. One minute!" Lieutenant Rima Aki stated before making last minute checks on her E-22 Blaster Rifle and securing her helmet. She puffed one final smoke from the cigarette between her lips before dropping it on the shuttle's floor and stomping it out. The Lieutenant wore the standard Imperial Army armor with the addition of a black kama and the sleeves of her top rolled up to her elbows. Underneath the kama was a holster with a DC-17 Hand Blaster secured in it. Around her, the Army Troopers of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Infantry Regiment, 116th Imperial Armoured Division readied their own weapons as well. A mixture of E-10s, E-11s, E-22s for the regular Troopers and the Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannons for the Heavy Weapons Squad. They wore the standard Imperial Army armor with the addition of a survival pack for the Medics. Kashyyyk's environment was stable enough that they had no need for their respirator masks.

Kashyyyk. Home of the Wookiees. Once controlled by the Empire, now under the filthy hands of the Rebels thanks to their cunning and the incompetence of the planet's overseer, sorry, former and armless overseer. In one savage strike, the Alliance had crippled the defending Imperial forces in the planet and liberated the local populace. Weeks of unrelenting warfare and the planet was under their control. So the Empire sent the combined forces of the Imperial Army and Navy with support from the Stormtrooper Corps to retake the planet from Rebel hands. As soon as the fleet arrived, it was immediately engaged by a Rebel fleet. A long and gruelling space battle ensued to the point both fleets were too occupied with their battle that the Imperials managed to send the 116th Imperial Armoured Division and the 4th Legion planetside.

"I got a bad feeling about this."

Rima looked to her left to see Sergeant Jayce Luxem secure her helmet then prime her E-10 Blaster Rifle. The Sergeant wore the standard Army armor with the only difference being that she rolled her sleeves up to her elbows like the Lieutenant's. She also had a SE-14C rather than the standard EC-17 Holdout Blaster secured in her holster.

"You always have a bad feeling, Sergeant."

"But I'm always right, aren't I?"

"Let's hope you're wrong this time." Rima sighed out.

Unfortunately for them, the shuttle began shaking violently. They could hear the explosions outside and Rima's comlink was filled with the pilot's panicking voice.

'Lieutenant, we are taking heavy fire from enemy artillery and M-45 Repeating Ion Blaster emplacements! Get out of here now. This thing can't take anymore damage. It's gonna blow!'

"Lower the ramp! Get out. Get the fuck out!" Rima yelled.

"You heard her, you sorry sack of bantha shits. We are leaving!" Jayce yelled as well before punching the button that lowered the ramp.

The soldiers were quick to run down the ramp but doing so had most of them gunned down by the M-45 emplacements that were set up on the platforms atttached to the side of the ginormous trees. Despite this, they pushed forward. As did the rest of the 116th Imperial Armoured Division. All the shuttles dropped them off by closest to the berm but the water was at least waist deep. Rima jumped down the ramp and into the water. She struggled to reach the shore but she made it a few feet away before the shuttle exploded, throwing her down. The Lieutenant gasped for air as she rose out from the water before making her way to the shore where at least hundreds and hundreds of their Troopers were pinned down by heavy blasterfire.

"What the hell are you people still doing here? Push forward!"

"But if we push forward, we're dead men, Lieutenant!"

"You stay here and you're dead. Sergeant Luxem!" Rima yelled for the Sergeant who was a few feet away from her "Get these idiots off the beach!"

"Alright, you guys. Get out of my ass and move!" Jayce ordered and going as far as to grab an Army Trooper and push him towards the direction of the enemy. The Sergeant herself jumped to her feet and ran forward. It was the only way they could go. They can't go back. The shuttles either left or were destroyed by the cannons or repeating ion blasters. The Army Troopers and Stormtroopers had no choice but to push forward and make their way to the end of the beach where the AV-7 Cannons were bombarding them. Unfortunately, at least four battalions worth of Rebel infantry, as well as pockets of Wookiee Warriors, stood between them and the cannons. Both sides opened fire and the Imperial forces made use of the barriers around the beach as cover to which the Rebels did the same.

Somewhere amongst the chaos of the battle, Army Medic Corporal Jim Namba was dragging a wounded Trooper over to cover. An artillery round exploded behind him and the Medic fell to the ground. Despite the ringing in his ears, he got to his feet and grabbed hold of the Trooper's arm before dragging him towards cover, unaware of the fact that said Trooper was missing half his body. Only when he finally reached the barrier to take cover did he see that his quarry was already dead. The Medic let go and backpedalled to the barrier. Another soldier was sent flying and landed next to him thanks to an artillery round. Namba quickly got to work and looked over the soldier. Seeing no visible damage, he patted the soldier's shoulder and helped sit him up.

"You're gonna be fine."

Another soldier fell face down next to them and Namba quickly went to work. He rolled the body to it's front and saw the two smoking holes in the Trooper's chest armor. The Medic checked for a pulse and cursed when he found none. Namba looked around the battlefield and searched for any wounded before running out of cover. He found a barely conscious Trooper that had lost his left leg from the knee below and his entire right arm and began dragging him back to cover. Reaching his destination, he set the Trooper down before taking off his Medpac and rummaging through it. Namba pulled out the Bacta and moved to apply it on the Trooper only to see him staring back blankly at the Medic.

"Damnit!"

Namba threw his helmet over the barrier in frustration before realizing his mistake a second later and hopped over the barrier to search for the helmet. Before he knew it, the Medic was seized by his arms and thrown over a barrier. He was forced to sit up against the barrier and was punched across the face. Someone grabbed his jaw and forced him to look at them. A pair of angry, onyx orbs glared into his own set of brown ones.

"I see you do stupid crap like that again, I'm gonna shoot you myself! Am I understood?"

"Y-Yes, Sergeant." The Medic stuttered out before Jayce let go of his jaw and fired her E-10 at the advancing Wookiees.

"Damn walking rugs won't just give up and die!"

"Well, Wookiee Warriors are known to be quite durable and strong-willed."

"Nobody asked you, Namba!"

"Sorry."

Meanwhile next to the Sergeant, Rima was busy calling command from her earpiece comlink.

"First wave, ineffective. I say again. First wave, ineffective. We have enemy artillery and emplacements pinning us down. We can't get off the damn beach. We need Armour Support now!"

'Affirmative, Lieutenant. Second wave are due to arrive with elements of 1st Battalion of the 281st Imperial Heavy Cavalry Regiment attached to them. Be advised. Enemy Fighter Support have been spotted in the area. We have already sent our own Fighters to keep them off your back.'

"Crap." Rima cursed before looking over to the end of the beach where there was a literal wall of guns standing between them and the enemy base "A wall of guns to keep us back while bombarding us with artillery, huh? That was the same tactic we used on Dryden-6."

"I heard there were survivors from that fight." Jayce said as she ducked back into cover "Must've saw it's usefulness and turned it against us. First, they were stealing our tech, weapons and vehicles. Now, they're stealing our ideas? What's next? The karking Death Star?"

"I doubt they could make something like that."

"For the last time, Namba, nobody asked you."

"Sorry."

"Enough." The Lieutenant silenced the two before pulling out her macrobinoculars and looked over to the emplacements "Two M-45 Repeating Ion Blasters on each of the three platforms. We need to silence those guns somehow."

"Lieutenant, we got Stormtroopers."

Rima lowered the binocs and looked to where the Medic was pointing at to see a squad of Stormtroopers heading their way. The Stormtroopers dove for their cover just as a hail of blaster bolts nearly rained down on them.

"DZ-217, ma'am. 3rd Battalion, 2nd Stormtrooper Regiment, 4th Legion."

"Rank?"

"Sergeant."

"Any of you got a sniper?"

"DS-627."

A short Scout Trooper crawled over to them, a DLT-20A Laser Rifle in her hands.

"Sir. Ma'am."

"Alright, Des." Rima pointed towards the platforms "See those emplacements? You have a clear shot of the gunner's legs from here, right?"

The Scout Trooper aimed down the blaster's scope and saw that she indeed have a clear shot. She nodded at the Lieutenant.

"Good. Take those gunners out as fast as you can. I know they can get replaced but temporarily taking them out will help our Troopers advance."

"Understood, ma'am."

"Alright, the rest of you. With me. Once those guns are down, we move for the next cover. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Ready yourselves... and pray to whatever deity you believe in that you'll live to die another day."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Lieutenant." Jayce sarcastically commented. The other Army Troopers laughed while only a few Stormtroopers did and even then it was a small chuckle at the least.

"Zip it, Luxem." Rima joked before nodding at the Scout Trooper "Smoke 'em."

DS-627 nodded before placing her finger over the trigger. She held her breath and lined up the shot before pulling the trigger as she exhaled. She didn't aim for the leg but she did aim somewhere between the legs. The Scout Trooper quickly shot the second gunner to which Rima saw through her binocs.

"Alright, gunners are down. Run for it!"

The Troopers, both Army and Stormtroopers, got out from their cover and made a beeline for the next set of barriers, trenches and foxholes all the while shooting at the slowly advancing Rebels and Wookiee Warriors. An Army Trooper fell from a very powerful shot from a Bowcaster to the chest. Rima jumped over said body and fired her weapon at the Wookiee Warrior. It took a lot of shots from her E-22 before the beast finally went down. Unfortunately, she didn't see the second Wookiee Warrior behind her who proceeded to grab her and lift her high in the air before slamming her hard on the ground. Loosing her helmet in the process.

"Agh! Son of a- "

The Wookiee roared and was about to crush her head with it's foot. Jayce and Namba saw this and immediately riddled the Wookiee with blaster bolts. The beast fell to the ground with a roar yet the two didn't stop firing at the body even though it was dead. The two quickly made their way over to the Lieutenant but not before the Sergeant shot the Wookiee one more time then helped the Medic drag Rima to a barrier for cover. They sat her down before the Medic started fussing over the Lieutenant, much to her chagrin, while Jayce covered.

"Damnit, Namba. I'm fine!" Rima slightly pushed her off "Now where the hell is my blaster?"

"Here."

Jayce threw the E-22 at the Lieutenant who deftly caught the double-barreled blaster rifle. She reached into the pouch on her utility belt and took out a cigarra before placing it between her lips. An Army Trooper dove to their cover just as an artillery round struck the ground he was in. The Trooper was young. Fresh out if Rima had to guess. The kid was keeping his helmet down for dear life and was shaking in his boots. He wore the same armor and BDU that the Army Troopers wear but with the addition of a large pack filled with tools and a Fusion Cutter attached to his belt. His helmet also had a white stripe running down in the middle.

"Name, rank and unit, soldier?"

"G-Garm Devan. Private. 4th Combat Engineer Battalion. Ma'am." The Private stuttered out.

"Mission?"

"We were supposed to build a forward base of operations on the beach. We didn't count on the Rebels and Wookiees here and shooting at us."

"Then shoot back, idiot."

"But Lieutenant, I don't have a weapon."

Rima let out a frustrated sigh.

"Then go find one!"

The Engineer moved to leave but was stopped by the Lieutenant. Rima unclipped the Fusion Cutter from Devan's belt and activated it then lowering it's intensity before using it to light her cigarra. She clipped the device back on the Engineer's belt before kicking him away.

"Thanks for the light, kid." The Lieutenant thanked after puffing out a smoke. Jayce ducked back into their cover and grimaced once the smell invaded her nose.

"You know someday that's gonna kill you before the Rebels do."

"Sod off, banshee bitch."

"Right back at you, black lung cunt."

Namba sighed and shook his head before peeking over the barrier to see the second emplacements were down. He faced the two to see them still going on about something while shooting at the Rebels.

"Lieutenant. Sergeant. Second emplacement's down. We gotta move now."

Just then, Devan joined them. Now with a Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon in his hands much to Rima's amusement.

"Nice to see you got yourself a weapon now, Private Idiot."

The new nickname garnered raised eyebrows from the three to which she shrugged.

"What? He lost his weapon and didn't grab one until I ordered him to. So from now on, he's Private Idiot until he can redeem himself. Now let's book it before those guns turn on us."

Rima threw the cigarra away before vaulting over the barrier and running for the next. The Lieutenant cursed herself for the stupid mistake of not finding her helmet before rushing their enemy. If Devan was Private Idiot for loosing his weapon then that meant she was Lieutenant Idiot for forgetting to find her helmet after loosing it. Stupid walking rug. A Rebel tried to tackle her but she slammed the butt of her rifle across his face before shooting twice in the chest and one in the head. Meanwhile, Namba was busy blocking punches from a blue skinned Twi'lek Rebel that was straddling him.

"Hands off, blue bitch!"

Jayce grabbed the Twi'lek's lekku and pulled, forcing the Rebel to the ground. She then proceeded to straddle the Twi'lek before punching her across the face. Namba got to his feet and retrieved his E-11 only for a large shadow to loom over him. The Medic slowly turned around to see the Wookiee Warrior looming over him. He tried to shoot his weapon but the Wookiee snatched it before he could pull the trigger and decked him across the face with it. Namba fell to the ground and tried to crawl away but the Wookiee grabbed his left ankle.

"Wait. Don't- "

The Wookiee pulled and nearly fell back when Namba's cybernetic leg was pulled off. The beast tilted it's head as it looked at the fake limb before raising it high above it's head and roared, intent on using it to beat the Medic to death. Fortunately for him, said Wookiee was riddled with blaster bolts from Devan's Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon. Once the Wookiee fell dead, the Engineer quickly helped the Medic and set him down behind a barrier.

"Grab my leg." Namba ordered before pulling out his EC-17 Hold-out Blaster and shooting a Sullustan Rebel that was charging at him twice in the chest. The Engineer returned and quickly went to work on reattaching the Medic's leg.

"Thank you, Private Devan."

Jayce roared as she slammed her helmet on the Twi'lek's head one last time before securing it back on her head. She got off the dead Rebel and made her way to the Medic and Engineer. Before she could say anything, the Medic beat her to it.

"Not. One. Word. Ma'am."

The Sergeant chuckled before helping Namba to his feet. The trio then joined the rest of the Army and Stormtroopers as they pushed closer to the beach. If Jayce had to guess, they at least covered half of the beach but the Rebels were putting up a good fight and they can't advance any further. They're only hope of winning this one is their Armour Support. The trio dove into cover next to the Lieutenant and waited for the Scout Trooper to kill the M-45 emplacement gunners.

"Hey, Lieutenant. Any word from the Major?"

"Van Zandt's probably busy kicking Rebel ass. Or maybe he's waiting for an Occupier to come down and hitch a ride on it just so he can run Rebels over or shoot them better. You know how crazy the old man is." Rima replied as she risked a peek only to pull her head back immediately to avoid a blaster bolt to the eye.

~Line Break~

"Major, we are good to go."

"Drop us."

Above the battlefield loomed three Gozanti-class Cruisers, carrying two AT-AT Walkers each. The massive dropship detached the Armoured Transports it was carrying into the waters close to the beach and left to return to the Imperial flagship, End Times. Inside one of these AT-AT's is Major Anya Z'tahl. Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion of the 281st Imperial Heavy Cavalry Regiment. AT Haulers flew past the Armoured Transports and made their way to the beach where they dropped off AT-DT Walkers on the field. The Major looked down on the hologram of the battlefield and assessed their situation. Command relayed to her that the first wave's advance was halted by heavy resistance from the Rebels and Wookiees. Soldiers were pinned down by heavy blasterfire from emplacements set up on key areas around the place while AV-7 Anti-vehicle Cannons bombarded the pinned down Troopers. Though, they did managed to control half of the beach before the guns kept them back.

"Major, Captain Helgarth is requesting to deploy our Troopers now. He says the Troopers are getting restless."

"Alright, let him have his fun. Army Troopers." The Major shook her head before contacting HN-044 "HN-044, I've given Captain Helgarth permission to deploy his Company. I want you to deploy your Stormtroopers as well. Keep an eye on him and reinforce his Company. Oh and tell him I said 'Happy Hunting'."

"Understood, ma'am."

The feed cut off and Anya looked outside the viewport to see the TIE Fighters and X-Wings have taken their fight from space to the planet's surface. One X-Wing was struck in the engine but the TIE Fighter engaging it was hit with a Proton Torpedo and was sent hurdling towards the side of one of her AT-ATs. Luckily, the Armoured Transport received minimal damage and continued it's march towards the beach.

"Are we in range of the Anti-vehicle Cannons?"

"Negative but Walker 4 is. Major, the TX-225 Occupiers have arrived and were dropped into the beach. Major Van Zandt sends his thanks."

"Crazy old bugger better not be hitching a ride on one of my tanks."

"He's doing it, isn't he?"

"...yes, ma'am."

"Bloody hell. Find someone sensible in that battalion of his and tell them to keep an eye on the old fool."

"Already done it, ma'am."

"Good work, Pilot."

~Line Break~

LT Clif Brill maneuvered through the dogfights occurring around him while flying the Lambda-class T4 Shuttle towards the Rebel Capital Ship's hangar. Him, along with six other Shuttles, were tasked with boarding the enemy capital ship and drop off the Imperial Marines inside. During the course of their journey, they lost two Shuttles and his own Shuttle was damaged. He can barely keep the thing afloat but he was not about to fail his mission.

"Attention, everyone. You better strap yourselves in. It's gonna be a bumpy landing."

The Shuttle landed none too gently into the Rebel ship's hangar but the ramp was lowered soon after. Imperial Marines, Stormtroopers who were under the Navy's command, ran down the ramp and began firing at the Rebel Pilots trying to enter their Starfighters. Some tried to shoot back but the Marines were tougher and faster than the standard Stormtrooper. IA-627 rolled to cover behind some crates and threw a Thermal Detonator at the door just as Rebel soldiers exited it and returned fire at the Marines. The grenade took out a chunk of the Rebel soldiers but more came out from the second door. While the majority of the Marines kept the defenders busy, others were setting explosive charges on the engines of the Rebel Starfighters, Bombers and Transports.

A Rebel Pilot saw this and shot a Marine with a DL-44, nailing him in the chest. She shot the next Marine in the chest as well but this one managed to get up and fire his E-11 at the Pilot. Two more joined him and the three opened fire on the Rebel who took cover behind some crates, unaware of the two other Marines closing in on her until it was to late. She risked popping out of cover to shoot at the Marines only to be gunned down from behind before she could even get a shot off. The two Marines continued to fire before moving on.

"End Times, this IA-627. Capital Ship hangar secured. We are moving further down the ship to the Shield Generator."

'Affirmative, IA-627. Take out that generator and defense systems immediately. Everything else is secondary. Our TIE Bombers will take care of the Bridge, Communications Array, Engines and Life Support.'

"Understood, End Times." IA-627 turned to the Marines as they disposed the last of the Rebel Pilots and soldiers "Alright, time to take out the Shield Generator and Defense Systems. 1st Platoon and 2nd Platoon will stay here and guard our shuttles. 3rd and 4th Platoon will take care of the mission."

"Enemy rocket incoming!"

A Rebel holding a HH-12 Missile Launcher fired a single rocket at one of the damaged Imperial Shuttles' cockpit and destroyed it. The Marines quickly gunned down the attacker before 3rd and 4th Platoon moved to carry out their orders. 1st and 2nd Platoon quickly made a makeshift perimeter around the remaining Shuttles. KN-210 sighed as she crouched down next to GS-3331.

"There goes our ride. Think we can fit two Platoons inside a Lambda-class Shuttle?"

"Don't even bother. We both know they'll leave one Platoon behind to cover our escape." GS-3331 replied as he checked over his E-11 "Besides. They are prepared to fight and die for the Emperor and the Galactic Empire. We all are."

"Good point."

~Line Break~

"Hey, Lieutenant. Cavalry is here."

Rima looked to where the Sergeant was pointing at and saw that indeed the Cavalry was here. A row of ten TX-225 Occupier Tanks, flanked by six AT-ST Walkers, three on each side, followed by two rows of seven AT-DT Walkers and just a few meters behind them were the four gigantic AT-AT Walkers. One particular Occupier Tank was leading the charge with a certain old Major sitting next to the tank's cupola.

"Drive me closer, soldier. I want to look them in the eye as I end their miserable life with my blaster. Ha ha ha ha!"

Even though the blaster bolts came close to hitting him, Major Kato Van Zandt cared not. Clad in an Officer's Battle Armour, hidden underneath by a black trench coat. A black Officer's cap, instead of a helmet, rested atop his head, covering the top of his graying hair. A large scar ran down his right eye, which was replaced by a cybernetic one, all the way to his jaw while burn marks marred the left side of his wrinkled face. His real eye, however, burned a fierce purple. The last thing that many beings see before they meet their demise at the hands of the Major. Zandt was also armed with a TL-50 Heavy Repeater and a K-16 Bryar Pistol, which was safely holstered underneath his trench coat.

"Ha ha ha! Yes! Forward. To victory, comrades! VICTORY! Your Empire demands it. Aha ha ha ha!"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again." Jayce began as the Major's Tank passed them by "Old man was crazy before he even turned senile. Now he's more crazier in his old age."

"But it gets results so I'm not complaining." Rima replied. Still transfixed at the sight of the elderly Major actually killing his intended targets while riding on top of the tank and still not getting shot.

Major Kato Van Zandt grinned a maniacal grin as he fired his TL-50 at the Rebels that dare stood in his tank's way. Blaster bolts tore through their bodies while those who were unfortunate enough to not dodge out of the tank's path or were hit before they could run were run over. This did not escape the artilleries' notice and one of the AV-7 Anti-vehicle Cannons set their sites on the Occupier Tank.

"Smoke 'em already!" A green skinned Twi'lek Rebel Pathfinder yelled at the cannon's gunner.

Van Zandt saw the Anti-vehicle Cannon aiming at them and quickly grabbed the Tank Commander before jumping off the tank as the cannon fired, destroying the tank in one blow. The two rolled to a stop but the Major was quick to get to his feet, already shooting at the three Wookiee Warriors that were trying to swarm them with his Heavy Repeater. He looked down to see the Tank Commander was still down and grabbed his arm before pulling him up to his feet then handing him the TL-50.

"Start shooting, Commander Vin."

The Major then took out his K-16 Bryar Pistol and shot a Rebel in the face as the fool tried to charge and melee him. Van Zandt shot another two before they could fire their weapons while the Tank Commander, VN-099, dropped into a crouch and opened fire in short bursts at the other Rebel Infantry.

In the skies, a squad of TIE Bombers flew past them and dropped their payload at the line of enemy artillery. Their TIE Fighter escorts, however, took out the Rebel and Wookiees on the platform thus effectively taking out the M-45 emplacements keeping the Imperial Infantry pinned down. Without the pressure from the emplacements, Rima quickly yelled for the Troopers to push forward.

"This is it. Push forward, grunts!" Rima didn't waste time and vaulted over the barrier and began shooting at the Rebels.

"We're in business!" Jayce yelled as she got off the ground and followed after the Lieutenant. Namba and Devan not far behind.

DZ-217 and the other Stormtroopers ran faster than the Army Troopers and passed them by, firing their E-11 Blaster Rifles while Heavy Stormtroopers let loose with the DLT-19 Heavy Blasters. Scout Troopers stayed in the back of the line to provide sniper support. DZ-217 and his squad were the ones who lead the charge. His squad consisted of two Heavy Stormtroopers, TF-626 who wielded a Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon and JR-802 who held a DLT-19 Heavy Blaster. DS-627 who had slung her DLT-20A and was now using an E-11 Blaster Rifle instead. RD-1260 who was crouched down as he aimed a Smart Rocket up at one of the X-Wings that were flying up above them. The Stormtrooper locked on to the fighter and pulled the trigger, letting the rocket chase after the X-Wing who was focused on chasing after a TIE Fighter and couldn't shake loose the rocket in time. The rocket slammed into the back of the fighter and sent the X-Wing barreling into the side of the ginormous trees, ending in a fiery explosion.

The Stormtroopers continued their charge, not stopping even for their wounded. Besides, it seems that Corporal Namba was already helping them with that. Said Army Medic was pulling wounded Stormtroopers and Army Troopers alike into cover. Lining them next to each other while other Medics tended to them before Namba searched for more wounded to recover. Seeing as the Medic would probably get himself killed or loose another limb, Jayce stayed behind to cover Namba while Rima and Devan moved on ahead to regroup with the Major who managed to hold out with the Tank Commander against the Rebels and Wookiees surrounding and shooting at them.

Van Zandt simply stepped aside to avoid the Wookiee that charged them while VN-099 rolled out of the way. The Major fired his Blaster Pistol at the Wookiee's back as did the Tank Commander. An Army Trooper joined them and shot the Wookiee Warrior in the head before the trio fired at the Rebels. The Army Trooper took a Bowcaster shot to the chest armor and fell to the ground on his back. The Major laughed as he grabbed the Trooper by the arm and tried to pull him up to his feet while said Trooper took out his EC-17 Hold-out Blaster and fired at the approaching Rebels.

"Get up, boy. It's just a flesh wound."

Unfortunately, a second Bowcaster shot to the chest ended the young Trooper's life. Van Zandt scowled fiercely and let go of the Trooper's arm and shot the Wookiee's knees before shooting it twice in the chest, right in the same spit where the young Trooper was shot, then shooting it in the head. Meanwhile, VN-099 was in melee combat with a human Rebel. The Tank Commander punched the Rebel in the gut before headbutting her, leaving his opponent in a daze and open for him to shoot which he quickly did. He retrieved the fallen TL-50 and riddled the Rebel with holes before kicking her still standing body to the ground.

Moments later, Stormtroopers joined them and began pushing back the Wookiees and Rebels. Rima and the Army Troopers joined them with the Lieutenant saluting at the Major.

"Glad of you to arrive, Lieutenant Aki. Status of the field?"

"Casualties of the first wave hit at least 65% of our forces and still counting. Second wave's got more Troopers to reinforce our guys but the Colonel said to let the second wave handle the rest of the mission. Our job's just to help the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion in setting up a forward base and Triage Centers for the wounded."

"Then it shall be done, Lieutenant." Van Zandt accepted with a nod before turning to VN-099 "What about you, Commander Vin? Are you still up for a firefight?"

"No, sir." The Tank Commander shook his head "My tank's down. I'll have to stay back and let the rest of the battalion handle it."

"Splendid! Come, Commander. Lieutenant. Let's go see to our Troopers."

As the three made their way back to the beach, Army Troopers from 1st Battalion, 281st Imperial Heavy Cavalry Regiment passed them by along with Stormtroopers from 2nd Battalion, 6th Stormtrooper Regiment.

They passed the AT-DT Walkers who provided Artillery Support while the Occupier Tanks rolled further into the jungle along with their Scout Walker escorts. The Armoured Transports have arrived at the beach and two of them made their way to enter the jungle while the remaining two stayed behind on the beach.

The trio passed by a Triage Center where Corporal Namba was tending over Army Trooper and Stormtrooper wounded with the other Medics while Jayce stood next to Namba, voicing out crude comments at the injured Troopers much to the Medic's annoyance.

Adjacent to the Triage Center was a foxhole where DZ-217 and his squad, who had taken their helmets off, were conversing. Other Stormtrooper squads or pairs did the same while some did not and kept vigilant watch.

The trio made it to the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion where they had already finished setting up a Command Tent while they build the foundations of the forward operating base. The Major entered the tent and nodded in satisfaction when he saw that the holotable was already set up as well the communications consoles. Van Zandt was quick to send out a battalion-wide transmission for all Company Commanders ir whoever was now in command of the Company to rendezvous at the Command Tent. While they waited, Rima went outside and took out another cigarra before placing it between her lips. Too bad Private Idiot wasn't here. She could've used his Fusion Cutter right about now. Fortunately, there was a burning wreck of an AT-DT and Rima used the small flame on it's leg to light her cigarra.

The first Company Commander to arrive was Captain Gat Sloane, CO of 1st Battalion's C Company. The two nodded in greeting before the Captain entered the Command Tent. The second to arrive was Ray Fordo, Captain of B Company and the last to arrive was someone she didn't know but figured he was probably F Company's highest ranking grunt they had right now. Seeing as that was all of them, she entered the Command Tent as well. Once inside, the Company Commanders quickly gathered around the holotable where the Major was currently speaking to Admiral Kane Royder of the End Times.

'Attention, ground forces. I am glad to inform you all that the enemy Capital Ship and her escorts have been destroyed and the fleet is building a blockade around the planet. There will be no escape for these Rebels, ladies and gentlemen. Ground forces are to hunt down and eliminate any Rebel they see. Wookiees are to be captured and returned to concentration camps. Good luck and happy hunting, ladies and gentlemen.'

The feed was cut and the Major grunted before facing the Company Commanders, his eyes stopping momentarily at the new guy. Van Zandt sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"It seems we have lost another Captain. Tragic but we all know that we will die in the field someday so... name, rank and unit, soldier."

"Sergeant Georgy Waller, sir." The Sergeant straightened "F Company."

"Lieutenant Georgy Waller now, boy. Let's hope Captain Tarkus Lindow is the last Company Commander to die this year. Right then." Van Zandt cleared his throat and straightened his uniform "I want casualty report of your Companies in here by the end of the day. Understood?"

"Sir yes sir."

"Good. Dismissed."

~Line Break~

"Don't worry, Private. We can get you fixed up in no time. We can even get you a cybernetic leg like mine. See?"

Jayce snorted as she watched Namba show his leg to the soldier who lost both his legs from the knee down.

"Hey, look at the bright side." She chimed in "At least you still have your balls and pee pee, Private."

"Sergeant, please."

"What? It's true."

"I'm not comfortable with this."

"Nobody asked you, Stumpy."

Namba sighed and shook his head before listing off the final casualty on the datapad. 45 Troopers were wounded while 60 brave men and women of A Company were lost. At least that's how many they managed to recover. Limbs didn't give much of an identification. Hell, some didn't even leave behind a body to recover. Who knows how many more of their guys were out there? Nothing more than a smoking hole on the ground thanks to those artilleries. Times like these he wondered if all this fighting was worth it. Sure they could replenish their numbers in a matter of weeks thanks to the reserve forces but what good are they if the next mission they were sent to would have the same result as this one?

Namba joined the Imperial Army in the same class as Jayce and Rima. When they first deployed, their platoon was their comrades. Batch mates and the like. But Felucia happened and everything went to hell. Month after month of fighting while looking over their shoulder as the local wildlife stalked them from afar. Then the secession of half the Division happened. Comrade against comrade. Friend against friend. When they were finally rotated out of the hellish planet, nothing was ever the same. Their number of friends dwindled. Mission after mission, more were lost to the war until only three of them were left. They weren't even past their twenties and already they were considered Veterans by the officers. The new recruits who had visions of fame, glory and patriotism blinding them called them the 'Old Breed'. Recruits. Heh. Young soldiers who always wanted to prove themselves better than the Veterans only to die on their first deployment or see the true horror of war. Twenty-nine and he already felt like he was getting too old for this.

Maybe it was time for him to retire after this and settle down. But if he did, who would keep these young Troopers from getting themselves killed. He became a Medic for a reason. To save lives. He can't do that if he's retired back on Corellia. No. He'll stay even if it kills him but... The Medic's eyes found themselves gazing at the Sergeant who was conversing with the Lieutenant. He can always count on her to watch his back. Shaking his head, Namba made his way over the two and nodded to the Lieutenant in greeting before handing her the datapad.

"A total of 45 wounded and 60 dead, ma'am. But the number of dead aren't solid. There could be more out there."

Rima sighed and finished her cigarra before dropping it on the ground and stomping it out.

"Damn. The Major's not gonna like this and this is just from our Company. Imagine the rest."

"No kidding, ma'am."

"I heard F Company lost their CO. Is it true, Rim?" Jayce asked. Loosing rank formalities and prompting the Medic to do the same.

"It's true, Jayce." Rima sighed out "Got a guy named Sergeant Georgy Waller promoted to Lieutenant."

"Are we still gonna fight in the jungle?" Namba asked "I don't think we have enough Troopers for that, Rima."

"I know, Jim. Command wants those involved in the first wave to stay back and secure the beach or help the Combat Engineer Battalion set up a FOB. I don't know about you two but I just wanna sit back and let the 281st handle the walking rugs and Rebels." Rima finished before yawning which caused the other two to do it as well.

Namba grabbed two seats and set them down before finding his own then left to grab them all a cup of caff. Rima nodded her thanks while Jayce joined the Medic. The Lieutenant smirked as the two left before taking off her armor and setting it down next to her seat, followed by her blaster rifle and BDU shirt. This left her in a black short-sleeved shirt which revealed her rather muscular arms. She sat down and used her BDU shirt to wipe the sweat off her face before running a hand through her blood red hair. She crossed her arms and leaned back into the chair then took out another cigarra. She didn't light it and simply let it rest between her lips. An Army Trooper passed by and she handed the datapad to him.

"Give this to the Major, tell him it's from A Company."

"Yes, ma'am."

A few minutes later and the two returned. Namba handed her a cup of caff and she nodded her thanks before taking the cigarra and pinning it between her ear. She drank the cup of caff while Jayce set a crate down between their seats and placed a deck of cards in the center.

"Up for a game of Planetary Poker, Rim?"

"Deal me in. What about you, Jim?"

The Medic politely shook his head no.

"Sorry. Maybe some other time. But I can be the dealer though."

"Suit yourself."

Without another word, Jayce handed the deck to the Medic wjo proceeded to shuffle the cards before handing two cards each then placing three cards on the crate.


	2. Galactic Conquest: Imperial Army Ch 2

The sounds of the AV-7 Cannons firing boomed as a blonde woman walked past the line of ten Cannons bombarding the capital city of Chaleydonia. Her steel blue eyes glaring at the city and the Rebels within. Army Command has issued orders on taking the planet of Christophsis from Rebel hands. The 8th Imperial Army Regiment, made up of soldiers from different units across the Imperial Army, volunteered for the mission.

The 8th Imperial Army Regiment. A semi-autonomous organization similar to the Stormtrooper Corps. It's creation was due to one Colonel's need for an army of her own and through rather questionable methods, that would've had her court martialed if she hadn't blackmailed the right people, achieved it. As long as the Emperor or Lord Vader hasn't voiced any concerns or displeasure and with the string of success they had achieved in the war, they pay the Regiment no mind. The numbers of the Regiment is as high as a single Imperial Army Battlegroup, rivaling that of the Stormtrooper Corps. Speaking of which, the Corps and the Regiment are in good terms to the point that the Corps is willing to supply the Regiment with Stormtroopers.

The combat elements of the 8th Regiment for this mission, however, include three Mechanized Infantry Companies, one Artillery Brigade, one Stormtrooper Company handpicked from the 4th Legion, one Walker Company, and one Recon Company. Though the majority of the Regiment consisted of Army Troopers or Mudtroopers or Mud Skulls or whatever people call them nowadays, Recon Company was made up entirely of Scout Troopers. A number of Stormtroopers were also attached to the Mechanized Infantry Companies. Command of the Regiment falls to one High Colonel Koleen Margath with Major Kato Van Zandt as her second-in-command.

Blonde hair tied into a small bun. A pair of piercing steel blue eyes and a large scar running across the bridge of her nose due to a rather violent altercation with her former CO back when she was a Lieutenant. Shame that he was shot in the back of the head during one of their battles against the Rebel Alliance. Truly a loss to the Galactic Empire. Clad in an olive drab Imperial Army Officer's uniform with the addition of a cape that matched her uniform's color. She also wore a tight fitting version of the Officer's pants with a thigh holster strapped to her right hip. A DT-29 Heavy Blaster Pistol secured in it.

The Colonel was also flanked by two specialized Stormtroopers. Storm Guards. Perks of having connections to the Corps and blackmail material. Storm Guards are Stormtroopers conditioned to be loyal to her and her alone. They wore the standard Stormtrooper Armor but with the addition of gray armor plating on the chest. They wore Tank Commander helmets, red pauldrons with an ammo pouch, black kamas, survival packs and two holsters attached to their utility belts which held a pair of RSKF-44 Heavy Blasters. The visor of their helmets were dark red in color and they also had a single red streak that ran across the center of the helmet, mirroring the position of the Colonel's scar. All of her Storm Guards looked like this. No one can discern them but her and the Guards themselves. Wielding powerful TL-50 Heavy Repeater each, her Storm Guards were formidable in the field and defending their Commander.

Koleen reached the line of K79-S80/a or the Assault Troop Transport, a larger and more heavily armed and armoured version of the normal Imperial Troop Transport. In addition to it's heavier arsenal and increased durability, it can also hold a single platoon of Army Troopers and provide fire support and cover for the infantry as well. Four transports were assigned to each of the three Mechanized Infantry Company. One of the Army Troopers watching the bombardment was Captain Rima Aki.

After the retaking of Kashyyyk, the Lieutenant was finally promoted to Captain. Looking at the city with her arms crossed and an ever present cigarette between her lips, Rima couldn't help but wonder if there would be anything left of the city. The bombardment has been going on for nearly two hours now and the Colonel still hadn't ordered for the Artillery to stop. The Captain finished the cigarette before stomping it out on the ground and straightening when the Colonel approached.

"If we're lucky, there won't be any damn Rebels left in the city by the time the Artillery's done."

"Don't count on it, ma'am." Rima replied "These Rebels are sneaky bastards. They're bound to be there when the rest of the Regiment moves in."

"Yes. Expect light to medium resistance, Captain. Colonel."

The two women scowled at the sound of the nasally voice. The duo turned as a man in his late-40s approached the two. Just by looking at his armor, it was obvious the man was an ISB Agent. But he wasn't just any ISB Agent. He was a high-ranking one that was sent by the Bureau to keep an eye on Koleen and Van Zandt. Especially the latter since he had executed an Bureau Agent that was assigned to command his battalion for incompetence, costing him more than half his unit. This made the Bureau keep a close watch on the Major but most Agents feared that they would be executed as well if they so much as do something Van Zandt didn't like. He had done it before after all as did Koleen. This particular Agent, Senior Agent Varen Aiber, had no fear of the two and was chosen as the best option to watch them.

Next to Agent Aiber was Agent Liv Kovak. Commander of the Bureau Enforcers attached to the Regiment. Young and arrogant from the looks of it. At least in Koleen's eyes. The true purpose of the young woman, however, was that the battle was to test her leadership skills in commanding the Enforcers and the Bureau Stormtroopers. Agent Aiber was also there to monitor her progress. Until the battle begins, however, he will keep an eye on Koleen and Van Zandt.

"Colonel. Captain. I'm here with Agent Kovak to inform you that her Enforcers and Stormtroopers would be the ones to first enter the city. No need to get your hands dirty. I assure you that these Agents and Troopers are the best the Bureau has to offer. So I kindly ask that you pull your Troopers back and let them handle it. I'm confident it won't be long."

'I'm smiling right now but I'm very fucking furious, you little coil of shit.' Koleen thought to herself before she begrudgingly agreed.

"Excellent." Aiber then turned to Agent Kovak "I will now leave this to your capable hands. Surely the artilleries would have taken out most of the Rebels by now and you would only have to take out the remnants of their forces. Good luck."

Koleen glared at the back of the man's head, wishing she was aiming her blaster at him right now. She shook her head and took a deep, calming breath before ordering the Artilleries to cease fire. She was going to see how effective the 'best the Bureau has to offer'. Koleen faced the young woman as said young woman was having a losing battle of glares with the Captain who had a newly lit cigarette in her lips.

"Oi, you two. That's enough. Agent Kovak, you're up."

"Of course, Colonel."

The two watched the younger woman leave before Rima scoffed.

"Bunch of pricks."

"I won't argue with you there. Come on, let's go see how terribly the bint would fuck up."

~Line Break~

And fucked up she did.

As soon as the Bureau forces entered the city, they were quickly ambushed and transmission was cut off. On the side, Agent Aiber ground his teeth before angrily turning to the Colonel who was eyeing the hologram of the city showed on the holotable. Yes. It wasn't his fault. No. It was theirs. Kovak didn't follow his orders right and this Army whore didn't bombard the city with enough artillery. Yes. He was not at fault. Lord Vader cannot blame him for someone else's fault. No, he cannot.

"This is your fault, you Mud Skull whore!"

This actually caught the Colonel off-guard. Her Storm Guards, on the other hand, quickly aimed their TL-50s at the Bureau Agent but refrained from pulling the trigger unless the Colonel ordered them to or Agent Aiber makes the first move.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about!?"

"You didn't thin out the Rebels like you were supposed to! If the Bureau were given authority over this mission, we would've finished it sooner!"

'He's gone off the deep end. Wait... is he blaming me for his and the bint's failure? Why that fucking... '

With a sneer, Koleen marched over to the Agent and grabbed him by his uniform shirt before punching him across the face. Aiber grunted in pain and fell back to the holotable. She quickly grabbed him by the shirt once more and punched him across the face again and again. Koleen was furious. After his so called 'best' fucked up and lost almost everyone, the bastard had the audacity to blame them for it. How where they at fault? They were the ones who bombarded the city nearly nonstop. Softened the bastards up for an easy kill. She didn't know how the 'best' managed to fuck that up but they did anyway. Koleen had enough of punching the pompous prick and slammed him against the side of the holotable. The Agent fell to the ground on his side before Koleen kicked him in the gut and ordered her Storm Guards to lock him up in one of the transports.

"You want a job done properly, you call the Army or the Stormtrooper Corps. Not the Bureau." Koleen stated as a pair of her Storm Guards roughly dragged him away. Van Zandt watching everything from the side with approval and amusement "And take his weapons and armor off along with his belt. It's hard to run with your pants falling down."

"Splendid idea, Colonel." Van Zandt began "Now to more important matters. How should we proceed with this little mishap?"

"Surprisingly, our little Agent is still alive and kicking. She locked herself up in one of the apartments in third street. I want one Mechanized Infantry Company to extract her and have the rest move along the city to take out any Rebels they can find but let the Walker Company move in first."

"Understood, Colonel. I'll have them ready but we shall wait for your arrival before we advance."

"Thank you, Major."

Van Zandt saluted before taking his leave. Koleen watched him go before turning to another pair of Storm Guards.

"I want the Guards keeping an eye on that fat prick at all times."

"Yes, Colonel."

"Very good. Now, where are my weapons?"

"Here you go, ma'am."

Koleen nodded her thanks as one of the Storm Guards handed her a DC-17m ICWS configured into it's sniper form with the addition of a blaster sling. Another Storm Guard handed her a pack that contained the other attachments for the weapon as well as it's grenades.

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, gentlemen. I'm going to change."

Without another word, the Colonel left and entered her personal Troop Transport. The two Storm Guards moved to the door and flanked it from both sides, waiting for their Colonel to finish. A few minutes later, Koleen stepped out of the Transport. She wore an Army Trooper Armor over her BDUs while also wearing a large, grey trench coat. The shoulder pieces of her armor were placed on the coat rather than on her Officer's tunic and attached to the rest of her armor. She also had pieces of reinforced Stormtrooper thigh plates protecting her legs while synth-lined leather boots helped protect her feet from stray blaster bolts. On her head was a headset comlink with a holographic visor that was linked to the sights of her weapon. Koleen slung the DC-17m on her shoulder before making her way towards the front lines. Her Storm Guards not far behind.

She passed by the towering forms of the six modified AT-ST Mk.III Walkers of the Walker Company. The triple barreled heavy laser cannon on the right 'cheek' stayed while the one on the left was replaced by a heavy missile launcher that is proven to be very effective against Rebel armour and structures. There was also a gunner stationed on the mounted E-Web turret on the top hatch of the Scout Walker.

"Walkers, advance to the city and escort the Troop Transports. Major Van Zandt. Who's the Company you've assigned to rescue our little Bureau Agent?"

"A Company, Colonel. I believe Captain Aki will see the objective through."

"Very well then." Koleen faced the Army Troopers "Alright, you sods. Let's get this over with but first."

She pressed a button on her comlink headset.

"Artilleries. Give the buggers another good kicking."

"But what about the Bureau Agent, ma'am." A random Trooper asked.

"Well... " Koleen shrugged "Let's just hope she found a building with a sturdy roof."

Suddenly, her headset beeped and she answered the call.

"Come in. Is anyone out there? This is Agent Liv Kovak. My men are dead and dying! Agent Aiber, send reinforcements! We are taking cover inside the third floor of the apartments in the residential district. Need reinforcements! I repeat. Need reinforcements!"

"This Colonel Margath. Agent Kovak." Koleen responded "Your superior is... indisposed of at the moment. Don't worry your pretty little head, Agent. The Army's here to save your arse. Margath out."

Koleen then turned to the Artillery.

"That's enough, lads." She then faced her soldiers "Alright. Let's do this, you lazy buggers."

~Line Break~

"They're inside!"

"Shoot them. Don't let them get through!"

Agent Liv Kovak dragged the wounded Stormtrooper inside one of the apartment rooms while the remainder of the Bureau Stormtroopers fired their weapons down the corridor. She set the Stormtrooper on the ground only to see that he wasn't moving so she took his helmet off and found he was staring blankly at the ceiling. The Agent cursed before going outside and firing her E-11 at the advancing Rebels. It didn't help that the Army decided to continue their bombardment while they were still in the city. She knew she never should've trusted Aiber. Follow my lead, he said. Do whatever I tell you on the comlink, he said. Now look where that got her! Surrounded by Rebels with only a handful of Stormtroopers left while artillery pounded everything else around her. The Enforcers with her were the first to gain casualties and none of them survived once they managed to take shelter in the apartment building.

"Keep firing!"

Liv grit her teeth as she pulled back inside the room when the Rebels concentrated fire on her. Fortunately, this gave the Stormtroopers the opportunity they needed to get in clear shots. The Troopers managed to kill a majority of the Rebels before they decided to fall back, leaving the Imperials a small breather from the fight. When Liv sat down on the bed did she realize that the artilleries have stopped and made her way to the window. She looked down the street to see the column of Troop Transports with Mark III Scout Walker escorts. The Troop Transports stopped and the Army Troopers inside disembarked before making their way into the building they were in.

The Agent let out a sigh of relief before leaning her forehead on the glass window. She wasn't ready to lead after all. Not with Aiber in command. She heard blasterfire down the corridor followed by a stream of curses.

"We're friendlies, you stupid Bureau asshats!"

Liv poked her head out of the room to see a squad of Army Troopers walk out from the corner of the corridor. The one on the front was a woman of short stature with short brown hair tied into a tail and two short black streaks ran horizontally on her cheeks. She wore a headset comlink similar to the Colonel but without the holographic HUD. The woman was clad in the standard Army Trooper armor with the grey BDU shirt's sleeves rolled up above the elbows. In her hands was a black E-10R Blaster Rifle.

"Sergeant Jayce Luxem. A Company. 8th Regiment. The Colonel sent us to save your asses. We got a Troop Transport waiting for you down there to send you back to the CP."

"Understood, Sergeant."

Without another word, the Bureau Agent and Stormtroopers followed after the squad of Army Troopers. They entered the elevator and patiently waited for the lift to reach Ground Floor. However, as soon as the doors opened, they were met by the sounds of blasterfire, explosions and shouting. Jayce was quick to jump into action and ran to take cover behind one of debris outside next to an Army Trooper.

"What the hell happened?"

"Rebel forces just took out one of the transports, ma'am. They got an AT-AP set up down the end of the street!"

Jayce peeked out of her cover and looked to where the soldier said the Walker was set up. There she could see Rebel infantry building a makeshift barricade in front of the Walker using various debris and other miscellaneous objects they could find before setting up two M-45 Repeating Ion Blasters behind the cover and opening fire on the group. One of the Mark III Scout Walkers fired it's heavy laser cannon at the Rebels but the AT-AP's Heavy Mass-driver Cannon shot off the left leg of the Scout Walker after the Ion Blasters weakened it's joints. The Scout Walker fell on it's side, disabled. The second Scout Walker, however, was ordered to pull back and find a way to flank the AT-AP by Rima who was taking cover behind the wreck of the Troop Transport.

Rima threw the spent cigarette away before grabbing the Army Trooper next to her by the shoulder. After being thrown away by the explosion, her comlink was crushed as well as her holoprojector so she had to rely on someone else for comms.

"Tell the Colonel we're taking heavy fire from Rebel forces within the city. One of our Troop Transports is destroyed. Tell her we are evacuating the Bureau Agent and Troopers but will stay behind to cover their retreat."

"Understood, ma'am." The Army Trooper pulled out his comlink "Colonel Margath. Colonel Margath. This is A Company we've- "

Rima turned back to the Army Trooper and saw a massive hole on the side of his helmet. She looked up to the building adjacent to the apartment and saw blaster bolts coming from thre fourth floor.

"Hostiles on the fourth floor. Open fire!"

The Army Troopers behind aimed their blasters at the building and opened fire just as the Captain ordered. Red blaster bolts shot up to the building while a mix of blue and red blaster bolts rained down on the Imperials. One of Rima's shots managed to hit one of the Rebels in the head and the body fell four stories down. The Captain got a good look at the body and saw that the man was a Christophsian Rebel. This made the Captain narrow her eyes.

'So the planet's true allegiance is to the Alliance then.'

"Rima!"

Rima quickly turned to the voice to see Jayce and the Bureau Agent they were sent to rescue dive to cover next to her.

"This area's too hot! We need to extract Kovak now."

"Get her in one of the Transports and make sure it leaves the city as fast as possible. The remaining transports will stay here and provide cover and support." Rima ordered before looking at two transports that proceeded to form a sort of barricade. The heavy laser cannon installed on the top of the transport let loose a hail of blaster bolts at the advancing Rebel infantry. Rima turned back to the two and looked at Kovak.

"You get your ass into that transport and get the hell out of this city. We'll stay here and cover your retreat." Rima shook her head as she moved to shoot the Rebels "You Bureau asshats better be grateful for this."

Without another word, Rima popped out of cover and fired her E-22. She nailed a Sullustan in the chest before aiming for the next Rebel and shot a Twi'lek in the head. Rima then moved out of the debris and slowly advanced to take cover behind one of the two troop transports. Some of the Army Troopers joining her. Jayce and Kovak watched them for a moment before the Sergeant grabbed the Agent by the forearm and pulled her towards the Troop Transport that was being protected by Bureau Stormtroopers. She roughly shoved Kovak in before running back to join her fellow Army Troopers.

Despite the AT-AP's Mass-driver Cannon, it's gunner seemed to only hit the areas close to the Imperials and not the Imperials. Unfortunately for the Rebels, the Mark III Scout Walker that pulled back circled around the area and was now facing the side of the Rebel Walker. The pilots inside aimed the tri-barreled Heavy Laser Cannon at the infantry while aiming the Missile Launcher at the Walker. The gunner on the top-mounted E-Web turret also aimed at the Rebel infantry.

"Target locked. Missiles away."

A trio of rockets shot out from the Scout Walker's Missile Launcher and sailed through the air before slamming into the side of the AT-AP. The Heavy Laser Cannon and top-mounted turret opened fire on the Rebel infantry below as it slowly made it's way to the Tank Sniper.

"Locked on. Second volley."

Another set of rockets were fired from the Scout Walker and once more struck the AT-AP on the side. The Rebel Walker tried to maneuver around to face the Scout Walker but a third volley managed to finally send it to the ground. Meanwhile, Rebel infantry were mowed down at the combined fire of the Heavy Laser Cannon and the E-Web turret. Some poor, unfortunate souls were crushed by the Scout Walker's foot. The gunner on top let out a manic grin as he shot the red barrels nearby and watched the explosion take out a number of the Rebels. The fiery explosions reflected on the goggles protecting his eyes as he killed Rebel after Rebel with the E-Web. Unfortunately for him, a sniper inside one of the buildings was lining up the sights of the DLT-20 on the gunner. The Rebel took a deep breathe and held it there before pulling the trigger as she exhaled. The blaster bolt sailed through the air and struck the gunner right in the head, leaving a large hole in the middle of his forehead and on the back of his head.

Back to Rima, the Captain saw the downed Rebel Walker and ordered the Army Troopers to move forward.

"Walker's down. Advance!"

The Army Troopers got out of their cover and slowly made their way towards the Rebels, firing their weapons while the Rebel infantry tried desperately to fight off the Imperials on two sides. Army Troopers slowly closed the gap between their forces before the Rebels managed to cripple the remaining Scout Walker with a rocket to gyros. The Scout Walker wobbled a bit before falling unceremoniously down on the ground. A squad of Rebels threw a bag of Thermal Detonators on the hatch before sealing it and ran away just as the detonators exploded, destroying the 'head' of the Scout Walker.

"Don't let up! Don't let up! Keep firing!"

Rima heard Jayce scream as the Sergeant fired her E-10R from atop of a debris. The Captain smirked before advancing towards the Rebels barricade. As they drew nearer, the Rebels stopped shooting but the Imperials didn't. Rima wondered if the Rebels were going to surrender but the answer she received was a big N.O.

Thermal Detonators were thrown over to them and the Army Troopers quickly scattered. Unfortunately, not all of them were so lucky. This managed to keep the Imperials back as the cluster of detonators were thrown at the Army Troopers and the Rebels popped out of cover to return fire. Taking out the Troopers who didn't managed to get to cover in time.

~Line Break~

Meanwhile, Corporal Jim Namba treated an Army Trooper who had half his body burnt when he was caught in an explosion. Beside him, Private First Class Garm Devan provided cover fire with his M-45 Repeating Ion Blaster that he salvaged from Kashyyyk. The Combat Engineer attached a bipod on the end of the weapon and was currently set up on a large piece of debris. Shooting down the Rebels and acted as a Support Gunner.

"Alright, this bacta spray should take care of those burns for a bit." The Medic began as he set the spray down "But you can't fight in this condition. I advise you to get stay out of the fight for now until we can get you some proper treatment."

Another detonator exploded and an Army Trooper was sent flying through the air, screaming. The Trooper landed on his back a few feet away and Jim quickly ran to the Trooper and dragged him back to cover. As he did so, whatever tendons and clothing were left keeping his leg below the knee together was severed and the Medic paused before looking down at his charge and saw he was unconscious. Good. He did not need to have his patient see that.

Jim set the wounded Trooper next to the first one and quickly cauterized the amputated leg before wrapping it in bandages. Hopefully they could get the Trooper back to the Triage Center for better treatment.

"Medic! Medic!"

Said Medic quickly jumped to his feet and began looking for the one calling. He found a Trooper dragging the upper body of another Trooper towards them. Jim ran to them and quickly dropped to his knees and looked over the wounded Trooper.

"You can save him, right? I mean it's just legs. He's still alive. You can fix him, right?"

The Medic sighed and simply closed the Trooper's eyes as his answer. From what he had gathered, the Trooper was dead before they even reached him. Probably as soon as the explosion took his lower half.

"No. No. No. No!"

Jim shook his head as he rose to his feet and placed his hand on the Trooper's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. He was already dead."

As the young Trooper wept, Jim gave the shoulder a squeeze before making his way back to cover. Garm wasn't shooting at the Rebels anymore and was sitting next to the wounded as blaster bolts pelted the position he was firing from. Jim kept his head low and joined the Combat Engineer.

"Any word from command?"

"Y-Yeah." The Private shakily nodded "Artillery Support inbound."

"Do you think there will be a city left after we're done here?"

"I don't think so. The moment we got out of those transports, almost every building was missing chunks of it or debris and craters spread out all over the roads." Garm replied just as they heard the explosions in the distance "This place would be nothing more than a hole in the ground once we're done."

"And it damn well will be."

The two turned their heads to the newcomer and saw Captain Rima making her way towards them. The Captain sat next to Garm and pulled out a cigarette before the Engineer wordlessly handed her his Fusion Cutter. Rima used the device to lit her cigarette before handing it back to Garm who was resigned to his role as the Captain's personal cigarette lighter. Rima puffed out a smoke before explaining what the Colonel ordered when the Agent safely returned to the CP.

"The Colonel ordered a full retreat."

"Why?" Jim asked. Perplexed at the order.

"We have confirmation that the citizens of Chaleydonia and the people of Christophsis have sided with the Alliance and are therefore considered enemies of the Empire." Rima replied without emotion "Since the whole city is theirs, the Colonel ordered a full retreat so she can have the Artilleries shell the whole city into rubble."

"But... what about the civilians?"

Rima was silent as she stared blankly at the Trooper holding the remaining half of his friend.

"They are enemies of the Empire." The Captain answered without looking at the young Engineer.

Beside him, Jim sighed and took off his helmet before running a hand through his hair. As much as he wanted to defy that order, he can't. The Empire would have him executed if he did. Hell, Major Van Zandt might do it himself. The Major held no sympathy for traitors and if he defied that order to save lives then he would be branded as one. But as much as it pains him to leave hundreds of innocent souls to such a fate... He shook his head and nodded to Rima. The Captain nodded back before ordering A Company to fall back.

Army Troopers stopped engaging the Rebels and pulled back to their transports. This occurred all over the city much to the Rebels confusion. Soldier after soldier returned to their transports or retreated on foot while the remaining Scout Walkers did the same. Soon the whole city was cleared out and the remaining Rebel forces walked out of their defensive positions. Even the Christophsians that were hiding in the buildings stepped out of their hiding spots to wonder why the Imperials suddenly left when victory was within their grasp.

Inside one of the Troop Transports that was heading back to the CP, Garm couldn't help but feel horrible. He signed up to fight Rebels, not this. Was this why the Rebellion started? Because of the brutality the Empire showed it's enemies? If so, then maybe he should... The Private stopped that train of thought immediately and shook his head. No. He wasn't going to think about that nor the city nor it's doomed inhabitants. But the explosions in the distance boomed in his mind as if he was right in the middle of the city. He could hear the screams of the doomed Rebels and civilians even though no one else inside the transport could hear it. Garm could only close his eyes and lower his head.

Meanwhile, Rima stared blankly at the floor of the Troop Transport. She was a soldier of the Empire and their ultimate goal has always been to bring order to the Galaxy even if it means the death of the innocents. Order. Even if it's through death and fear, the Empire will see to it that order is restored and the Rebels that caused this chaos will be brought to justice. A small part in the back of her mind knew that damning hundreds of innocent souls to oblivion was wrong. So very wrong. But as always, a good soldier follows orders and Rima was a good soldier... or at least that's what she tells herself.

~Line Break~

From atop a dirt hill, Koleen watched as the city was bombarded once more by their mighty cannons but this time, there will be no stopping until the city's nothing more than a hole on the ground or they run out of shells for the Artillery. Two Storm Guards stood to the side as they too watched the explosions. She heard someone approach from behind and turned around to see two other Storm Guards escort Agent Aiber to her. The Bureau Agent gave them a look before schooling his features when he turned to Koleen.

"I must say, I have been wrong about you, Colonel. I apologize for the trouble young Agent Kovak has given you and for my... outburst as well."

'Calling me a whore and undermining my authority amongst other things in your little outburst is the least of your worries, Agent.'

"Of course, Agent Aiber. Apology accepted."

Koleen turned away and looked back at the city. Aiber then made his way next to stand next to her and watched the bombardment as well.

"Hm. It seems you are right, Colonel. If you want the job done properly, you call the Army or the Corps. The Bureau have some use of your Regiment in the future."

"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Agent Varen Aiber." Koleen began as she quietly unholstered her blaster "But I'm afraid this will be the last time we'll ever meet."

Koleen turned to the Bureau Agent and shot him on the side of the head. The Colonel watched as the body fell into a heap on the ground. Two Storm Guards quickly moved to drag his corpse away and dispose of it somewhere isolated with the help of the Regiment's Flametroopers.

"Tell me, Agent Kovak. Are you going to report back to your superiors of what happened?" Koleen asked as she looked over her shoulder to see Agent Kovak reveal herself from behind the Troop Transport.

"No, Colonel Margath. I will not. At least not in the way you think."

"Then what will you do?"

"I shall report to the Bureau that Agent Aiber was unfortunately killed by the Rebels when we entered the city. The 8th Regiment had done all they can to save him but Senior Agent Aiber was already dead upon the arrival of the closest Medic. The 8th Regiment then proceeded to avenge a fellow Imperial by bombarding the city after evidence showed that the Christophsians have sworn their allegiance to the Alliance."

"Hm. Safe travels then, Agent Kovak."

The Bureau Agent nodded before turning to leave. Koleen watched her go before spying from the corner of her eye three Bureau Stormtroopers block the Agent's path. The Bureau Troopers raised their blasters and aimed at the Agent, ignoring her demands for an explanation.

'So they are loyal to the late Agent Aiber. Very well then.'

Koleen turned her head to the two Storm Guards at her left and motioned her head at the Stormtroopers.

"Go and kill them, would you."

The two Storm Guards wordlessly nodded before aiming their TL-50 Heavy Repeaters at the Bureau Troopers. Without hesitation, they pulled the trigger and riddled the Bureau Troopers with blaster bolts, much to Agent Kovak's shock. Koleen felt the corner of her lips twitch upwards as the bodies fell and Kovak was left unharmed before turning around and watched as the capital city of Chaleydonia went up in flames. It was horrible, what she had ordered her men to do but this is war. War involved casualties... even civilians. How many bodies of men, women and children had she passed by scattered on the ground as the Imperial Army finished 'pacifying' a city? Did they die from a stray blaster bolt? Explosion? Or did they die because the Empire demanded their deaths? Ever since she was molded by war, death became a common sight. Death of an enemy, a friend... an innocent life.

Memories unbidden came to the forefront of her mind as she remembered looking at the corpse of a Rebel soldier hunching over the bodies of a woman and her infant. Foolish, she thought. A soldier would shield the woman and her child even though the blaster bolts were sure to pierce through his body and to the ones he tried to protect. She remembered ordering the three to be given a proper burial and not be placed among the piles of dead bodies that would be buried together in a large hole on the ground.

Koleen suddenly felt something moist drip down the corner of her eye and wiped the tear away before closing her eyes and willed herself from shedding more tears. No. It was not the time to be emotional. There was no time for that here. Never in the battlefield. Steeling herself, Koleen watched on with a mask of indifference as the city was destroyed before her. She'll have the Probe Droids sweep the remains after though she doubted there will be anything left.


	3. Galactic Conquest: Imperial Army Ch 3

**_A/N: Just a filler before the battle. Some bits and pieces from the characters, etc. Anyway. Let's talk about the 8th Regiment. The Regiment is vast in number. The Regiment part on the name is just that. A name. It does not state that it is the size of their army. They're like their own organization of sorts but still work for the Empire and like almost all Imperial leaders, Margath is ambitious. When the war comes to an end, this is what the 8th Regiment will most likely do._****_If the Empire wins, they remain within the service of the Empire until the opportune time that they make a grab for power. But that isn't likely to happen if Palpatine still draws breath but if not, and assuming Vader and his Inquistors kicked the bucket as well, everyone in the Empire would be making a grab for power. Imperial Remnants would fight against one another until only one comes out on top. And when one triumphs against the others, the 8th Regiment comes in and takes it from them._****_If the Rebels win, however, the 8th Regiment will cut off ties to the Empire and become their own autonomous organization. With her connections, Margath can supply the Regiment with weapons, armour and ships. Think of it like starting her own Militaires Sans Frontières from Metal Gear._****_Just a reminder that I'm writing this for fun and in a somewhat Imperial's perspective so expect the Rebels to be played in a bad light but the Empire still does immoral and questionable things so... I don't know what I'm talking about anymore. Anyway. Toodles~_**

* * *

Tatooine. Of all the places Margath wanted to find recruits, it just had to be this dustball. The 8th Regiment, ever growing in number to the point the 'Regiment' part of their unit became misleading. Their numbers didn't rival the Stormtrooper Corps anymore. It was about to surpass it. Thanks to the Army Troopers around the Imperial Military getting phased out by the Stormtroopers, this gave the Regiment more soldiers but even then, it wasn't enough for GENERAL Koleen Margath. She had the Regiment scour every corner of the galaxy for more recruits. Recruiters go from planet to planet, city to city, settlement to settlement, town to town, cantina to cantina, hell, even prison to prison just to find more soldiers for the ever growing Regiment. Margath was slowly growing in power and connections. The General was set to make the 8th Regiment a formidable force for the Empire but Rima knew that Margath wants this force to answer to her and her alone. When the time comes for the Empire to fall, the 8th Regiment will stand strong. And she will not let these Rebels stand in the way of her ambitions. There was also another reason why she was 'recruiting' criminals from the forgotten corners of the galaxy.

Penal Battalions. The cannon fodder of the Regiment. Made up of criminals and soldiers who were deemed disruptive to military discipline but were otherwise "worthy of service". In exchange for a lighter sentence, they would fight for the Empire. Unfortunately for them, their duty involved assaulting difficult objectives, clearing minefields and defending positions against overwhelming forces. Those who survived were given a place within the Regiment's units and given the 'rights' as a true soldier of the Empire.

There's at least a silver lining to their situation. It was suggested that they only be equipped with little to no armor, standard blaster rifles and side arms without access to any other form of weaponry. But General Margath refused and gave them the same equipment used by the Army Troopers. Though it wasn't much considering most of their weapons tend to not fire right or break down completely but Rima blamed whoever was the cheap bastard in charge of developing and distributing weapons to the Empire. Seriously, they had better weapons in basic than the crap they were given on their first deployment. At least the General had the sense to make sure the weapons receive weekly maintenance and allowed for slight modifications. You also don't have to worry about running out of ammo since you probably won't even be alive long enough for your blaster to run out.

Rima was shaken from her thoughts when she felt the Armoured Troop Transport stop and rose out of her seat and faced their new batch of 'recruits'.

"Ladies and gentlemen, get your asses off those seats. We're here." She faced the 'recruit' that was still sleeping and kicked him in the shin, jolting him awake "Get up, get out and get in line."

"Come on, sweet cheeks. I was just having the best dream of my life." He got up close to the Captain and eyed her face "It involved you on your knees and suc- "

Outside, Jayce was eyeing the line of conscripts they got from Mos Eisley when she heard a high-pitched scream from inside the Troop Transport. She turned to the vehicle just in time to see a man fall out of the transport and clutching his balls with one hand while his left arm was bent in an odd angle. Two Army Troopers made their way over as Rima jumped off the transport and motioned her head towards the line. The two Troopers wordlessly dragged the man by the arms, eliciting a scream from him as they dragged him towards the back of the line of conscripts.

Another Troop Transport arrived and Corporal Jim Namba stepped out before a line of recruits followed after him. From what Jayce could see, they were young and only arrived in one transport rather than two. If she had to guess, these guys are the ones going to the Academy to be trained as Army Troopers. The Sergeant was surprised that there were actually people in this dustball that wanted to join the Empire. In their eyes, this was probably a way off this hellhole. At least in her own opinion.

"Jayce."

The Sergeant looked away from retreating backs of the real recruits and turned her head to Rima as the redhead approached. Rather than wear the grey BDU shirt and black pants, the Army Troopers stationed here wore desert yellow pattern BDUs but retained the olive drab armor. But since their suits didn't have a built-in cooling system like the Sandtroopers, a lot of the Army Troopers didn't wear their armor inside the base. Jayce herself didn't wore her body armor and one shoulder plate and BDU shirt. She was clad in only her olive green shirt with the short sleeves rolled up to her shoulders tucked inside her desert patterned pants. She wore a single shoulder plate on her right arm to show her rank, a pair of gloves with hand plates and wrist gauntlets as well as greaves and a pair of black, synth-lined boots. Her brown hair tied up in a short tail while a headset comlink was secured around her head.

Meanwhile, Rima wore her armor and BDUs but had the sleeves of the BDU shirt rolled up to her elbows. For once, she didn't have a lit cigarette in her mouth but she did have one tucked between her right ear underneath her helmet.

"We got a bunch of conscripts today. A lot of them are scum but they'll do for the penal battalions. I heard that the General's got a list of Army, Navy and Corps Officers that are 'candidates' for the penal battalions. She's got a lot of dirt on them that can warrant for their arrest, discharge, maybe even execution, if it goes out. I'm willing to bet our mutual friend in ISB's got something to do with it." Rima shook her head "Anyway. Any word from the Rebels?"

"We're not the only ones recruiting." Jayce sighed "Intelligence reports that the Rebels are arming Militia or sending them troops. We got uprisings from planet to planet. The Alliance is getting stronger. Especially with their leaders. They have enough influence to keep themselves going. No one really expected the war to escalate like this. They were small at first. Now they got half of the galaxy supporting them."

"And we have the other half."

"Yeah." Jayce nodded "Remember the Clone Wars? People are starting to call this the Galactic Civil War."

"And there's nothing civil about it."

The two women turned as Jim arrived to join them. Rima looked to the Medic's face and saw the short stubble that now adorned his face. He was always clean shaven and neat but when someone complimented his stubble once because he forgot to shave, he kept the look.

"We've seen enough killing to last us ten lifetimes, Jim." Rima began "But it never stops. That's just how it is."

"And how many more innocent people will suffer? How many more children do we have to bury? When this war ends, I can guarantee that the victor will stand upon a galaxy of corpses. Empire. Rebels. It doesn't matter which side wins. The innocent don't." The Medic turned away and looked into the Transport Shuttles that were loading up the young recruits "They're barely even out of their teens and we're already pushing them one step closer to their deaths."

"They're not that different from when we first signed up. It's their own choice as much as it was ours." Jayce reasoned.

"I wanted to join the Army because I thought I could help more in the battlefield but how many Troopers died before I could even save them? They joined because they wanted to get off this rock. They wanted to join so they can escape this scum infested planet." The Medic shook his head with a sigh "But at least if they stay here, they can still have a chance to live. Fighting this war is certain death. Rima."

Said redhead looked away from the Transport Shuttles as they prepared to depart and faced the Medic.

"Didn't you always say that we're dead anyway? That all we can do now is wait. Find a good place to die fighting."

"Yeah. Your point?" Rima questioned.

"We didn't used to be like this. Do you really want those kids turn out like us? Broken physically and mentally?"

"And what would you have me do?" The redhead asked through gritted teeth "Walk up to the General and tell her to stop recruiting? Go to the Emperor himself and demand that he stop this war? Face it, Jim. No matter how much we want to end this godforsaken war right now, we can't. We have to fight for it. This is just how it is and we can't do anything change that. The best we can do is just make this war end faster."

"And how are we gonna do that?" Jim asked "Fight? We keep fighting and fighting and fighting. Instead of seeing an end to this shit, it just keeps getting worse! And what's next? Are we going to send cadets off to fight without even graduating?"

"Enough!"

The two stopped and looked to Jayce as as a pair of onyx orbs glared at them before looking at the Medic.

"Jim. You're tired. You haven't slept in two days. Please. Go back to the barracks and sleep. Take a day off. Get some alcohol in you. Just relax for fuck's sakes."

Rima finally got a good look at the Medic and saw the large bags under his eyes and how tired he really was. Jim looked like he was about to protest but Jayce placed a hand on his arm and the Medic relented before looking back at Rima.

"I'm sorry for my outburst. I'm just... so tired. Of this. Of everything."

The redhead nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder before giving him a nod of understanding.

"We all are. Now go back to the barracks and get some sleep. You don't need to apologize."

"Thank you."

The Medic bid them farewell and made his way to the barracks. Rima and Jayce watched him go before the Sergeant turned to the Captain.

"I tried to tell him that he can leave. Get away from this but he said that he wouldn't. He said he can still save lives and he won't stop until his own body stops. The General herself had talked to him but he told her that it wasn't right that he stays at home while everybody else fights. He told her that he knew he can't save everyone but he damn well would try. She let him stay."

"He could still do that even if he's retired." Rima argued "There are a lot of places in the galaxy that needs doctors."

"But he's a Combat Medic. Joining the Army to help in the field was one of his reasons. The other was because he couldn't afford to continue his last year at a Medical University."

"Wait. He's not a real doctor?"

"But that doesn't mean he's not a good medic." Jayce defended as she narrowed her eyes at her friend "Sure he might not have saved some poor bastard's life but he tried his hardest to save them. Hell, he's saved more lives than any other Medic out there. Do you really think any other Medic in the Empire would give the time of day to actually help someone who lost a limb or try to keep a wounded soldier alive long enough to get proper medical attention?"

"Fuck no."

"See? But he does. He won't give up until they're really dead. That's why he doesn't wanna go back. If he did, Margath would be recruiting and conscripting more soldiers to the Regiment than now."

Rima was silent for a moment as she let that sink in. A few moments later, her face grew a mischievous smirk.

"Jeez. I knew you were fucking but I didn't know it went beyond that."

That was a total lie. She saw it from the start. All the way back since basic.

"You so much as say a word about this to anyone, I will shove my foot so far up your ass that it will come out of your mouth. You got that?" Jayce threatened to Rima's amusement.

"You do know I outrank you, right? You do that and I can have you court-martialed."

"Doesn't matter. I'll still do it."

The two women stared each other down before letting out small laughs. Once they stopped, Jayce left to see if Jim made it to the barracks or dropped dead on the way and fell asleep in the middle of the base. Rima watched her go before turning her head to the left to face Private First Class Garm Devan who was standing awkwardly on the side while scratching his cheek with his index finger.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Uh, I was here the whole time, ma'am." The Combat Engineer answered.

"Huh. Go figure. So you heard all that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then you know what will happen if you tell anyone about this?"

"Tell anyone about what?"

Rima smirked and turned away.

"Good answer."

~Line Break~

One Week Later

"Everyone here knows how to throw right? Then this should be easy compared to your performance during target practice."

Jayce picked a Thermal Detonator from a crate next to her and showed it to the two groups of conscripts.

"This is your standard issue Class-A Thermal Detonator. Not as fancy like those N-20 the Stormies use but it's still deadly. Normal blast radius is 20 meters but you can tweak it to make the blast go bigger or smaller. Depends on what you wanna do. To activate it is simple. Just press this trigger then throw it to whatever poor bastards you want gone."

The Sergeant threw it across the field where a trio of dummies were stationed. The explosive device landed by the dummies 'feet', it's red light blinking rapidly before exploding. Jayce then turned back to the conscripts.

"Alright, who wants to go- "

She was cut off as one of the conscripts pushed pass the others and grabbed a detonator before punching Jayce across the face. He ran towards the CC and threw it to where the General's office would likely be.

"I won't die for you Imperial bastards!"

Unfortunately for him, he didn't have a good throwing arm as the thermal detonator bounced off the wall of the Command Center and landed by his feet. He looked down with wide eyes as the detonator's red light blinked rapidly.

"Shit."

Then the device exploded taking the foolish conscript out along with a small part of the Command Center's wall. After recovering from the blow, Jayce watched the stupid idiot try to destroy the CC with one detonator before shaking her head at what followed. Sighing wearily, she turned back to address the two groups of conscripts.

"Don't do that." She deadpanned before taking another detonator and holding it out for the conscripts to see "As I was saying. Who wants to go first?"

Watching it all from the distance, Rima couldn't help but laugh to herself at what just occurred. They're all idiots. But they have their uses. Penal battalions always have their uses.

Clad in a simple grey tank top tucked inside her BDU pants and wearing a black Officer's cap, Rima took a drag from her cigarette before turning her head to the side to see what the Engineers were cooking up. They took away a RX-200 Falchion-class Assault Tank's NNJ-40 "Thunderbolt" Long-range Ion Cannon and replaced it with an AV-7 Anti-vehicle Cannon instead. Despite the AV-7 being capable of moving with it's own repulsorlifts, they needed it to be faster and more mobile. Making some adjustments to the Falchion's engines, the tank was now faster and a bit more maneuverable. Someone even suggested replacing the HAVw A6 Juggernaut's Heavy Laser Cannon with an AV-7 Cannon.

Another project for the Engineers was to retrofit the TX-225 GAVw Occupier Tanks to carry Troopers rather than cargo but this would leave the Troopers vulnerable to blasterfire. Even though they are out in the open, it will at least let the Troopers shoot back. There was also the addition of a pintle mounted DLT-19 Heavy Blaster on the tank's cupola. Now the Tank Commander can spot targets as well as shoot them. Another idea was to place a Mortar Team on the back of the Occupier Tank and provide indirect fire while also capable of defending itself if hostile forces approach.

There were also plans to modify the AT-DTs by replacing the main gun with AG-2G Quad Laser Cannons but with other projects lined up such as replacing the Imperial-class 1-H Repulsortank's Heavy Laser Cannon with a Mass Driver Cannon or making progress with the experimental Atmospheric Assault Lander. An armored troop carrier designed to carry two full squads of Troopers from orbit to planetside or wherever the drop zone was located. It was controlled from inside the transport via console and screen but should the external camera is damaged, the pilot would be flying blind. Something the Engineers had to figure out on a later date. As for defense, the lander relies on two dorsal gunners with mounted E-Web Heavy Blasters, deflector shields and heavy armor for protection. They still had a lot of work to do before it was cleared for battlefield operations.

Suddenly, a voice on the loudspeakers announced that the 8th Regiment is being transferred to Geonosis while the 68th Legion, under the command of Captain Kosh, would be taking over operations in Tatooine.

Upon hearing that they were leaving Tatooine, Rima was elated only to grimace when she heard they were transferring to Geonosis instead.

'Oh great. Move from one hot hellhole to another. Just our fucking luck.'

~Line Break~

Training Room of the ISD-II 'Judicator'

En route to Geonosis

"Alright, ladies and gents. Each of you are given a single durasteel combat knives. Not vibroknives but regular combat knives. It's a last resort weapon or if you wanna get up close and personal. It's better than the crap you make in prison so always have them in your person or your 'prison wallet'. I don't care. Just keep it close. And for fuck's sakes, don't try to stab each other."

"No stabbing!"

Rima couldn't help but chuckle as Jayce threateningly pointed her own knife at the conscripts as she yelled at them. Watching from the sidelines, the Stormies of the 8th Regiment were placing bets on when will the conscripts start stabbing each other. Most were betting it would be within the hour. Among these Stormies was LZ-727. The Stormtrooper looked to her right where a much shorter Trooper stood.

"You heard what's going on in Geonosis?"

"No. What's happening there?" ST-1097 asked the taller of the two.

"Something happened to the 562nd Mechanized Infantry Division down on Geonosis. Imperial Intelligence found out the Rebels have managed to secretly build a base on the planet. If they hadn't caught that Rebel and sic them to ISB, the Empire would have never found out about it. They sent the 562nd to deal with it but it's been going on for six months. Then suddenly, all communications to the division were lost."

"Damn."

"But I heard they got one last transmission out before they went dark. From the sound of it, they really needed help."

"What the hell happened down th- "

"What did I just say!? NO STABBING!"

The two Stormtroopers, as well as the other people in the training room, turned their eyes as Sergeant Jayce and Captain Rima separated two conscripts trying to knife each other. Jayce grabbed one by the shoulders and pulled him off of the other guy only for him to turn around and deck the Sergeant across the face. Jayce blinked before glaring at the conscript and kneeing him in the balls, forcing him to his knees. She grabbed him by the shirt and slammed her forehead against his, knocking him out.

Meanwhile, Rima was busy taking the knife away from the second conscript and succeeded before kicking him back. The man backed up against another conscript who pushed him away and tried to punch him but the second conscript ducked the blow and struck a fourth conscript. What soon followed was chaos as the conscripts fought each other with the Army Troopers joining in to salvage the situation. Rima managed to get away from the sea of bodies and sat on the ground a few feet away before letting out a tired sigh. Jayce soon joined her and the two women watched as the fighting continued.

"This is too much effort just for cannon fodder." The Captain sighed out.

"You're telling me." Jayce replied before finding herself one boot short. Gritting her teeth, the Sergeant let out a battle cry as she dived into the fold once more to find her boot from all the chaos.

Rima could only shake her head before rising to her feet. This was just too much work to train people whose jobs were being a meat shields. She turned her head to the Stormies and whistled to get their attention.

"Set blasters to stun bucketheads and go into town. Just don't shoot my Mud Skulls."

"Understood."

Rima turned away as the Stormtroopers began shooting at the conscripts, stunning them before unceremoniously dragging their bodies away to the corner of the room. Of course there were bound to be friendly fire and some Army Troopers were gently dragged to the other side of the room away from the conscripts. The Captain gave the training room one last look before making her way to the General's quarters. She needed to give her report on the conscripts' 'progress' after all.

~Line Break~

"So you'll be joining us then?"

"Indeed, General."

Koleen hummed as she looked at the hologram of the Regiment's mutual friend in the ISB, Agent Liv Kovak. After the ISB Stormtroopers failed attempt to kill her, the young woman was easily swayed to be their informant and agent within the Bureau. Since those Bureau Stormtroopers were listed as Killed in Action, no one else in the Bureau knows about what happened to Agent Aiber back in Christophsis. With the help from Kovak, the Regiment received a company of Imperial Shock Troopers among their ranks. Koleen already had a use for the Shock Troopers other than being heavy frontline units. She would assign a squad of Shock Troopers on the rear of each of the Penal Battalions on the frontlines. Any conscript who so much as abandon their posts and take one step back would be shot on sight. No exceptions. The conscripts ARE expected to die for the Galactic Empire after all. Whether they die as a coward or a brave soldier lies solely on their decision to follow orders without question. It helps that they fear the Empire's wrath more than the mere thought of joining the likes of Rebel scum. Of course, Internal Affairs are more than willing to 'persuade' them to join the cause otherwise.

"And my gift to you, Agent? Have you received it?"

Liv smiled at that.

"Really? An Acclamator-class Assault Ships and sixteen hundred of the 8th Regiment's Army Troopers along with four hundred Stormtroopers from the Corps. Abusing your the power of your position to spoil me, General? How endearing."

"Anything for you." The General let out a mocking smirk before turning serious "When will you arrive?"

"In an hour or less." Liv replied as she too turned serious "We've been trying to ping them through all channels but we still can't get through the 562nd Mechanized Infantry Division. Something is blocking our comms there."

"What was the 562nd's status before they went dark?"

"They were under attack by Rebels though that is to be expected. But their last transmission was a call for help. If I had to guess, enemy reinforcements might have arrived on the planet and took them by surprise. The 562nd haven't received fresh troops ever since they arrived on the planet. They may have been outnumbered before losing contact."

Koleen narrowed her eyes at that. If Agent Kovak was correct then there was probably a defense fleet waiting for them. A blockade made up of unknown number of ships. Considering the force of the Regiment she had now was two ISD-IIs, the Judicator and the and three Arquitens-class Command Cruiser escorts, perhaps they could take them head on. With Agent Kovak and her Acclamator-class Assault Ship joining them soon, they can end the battle in space a little quicker. The faster they get Troopers on the ground, the better.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock from her door. Koleen looked back at the hologram.

"We'll talk later."

The hologram disappeared and Koleen looked towards the door.

"Enter."

The door slid open and Captain Rima Aki entered. The woman held a datapad while a cigarette was tucked on her ear and was walking towards her before stopping and saluting.

"At ease, Captain. Report."

"The conscripts aren't... doing so good. We were training them to use combat knives and they ended trying to stab each other. I had the Stormies stun them and let Jayce handle them. Their accuracy on weapons are... mediocre at best but they got physical down so there's that silver lining. I have a list here." Rima lay the datapad on the General's desk "That has conscripts that could actually be a good Army Trooper, if they survive their first deployment that is."

Koleen grabbed the datapad and scrolled through the list while humming to herself as she did so.

"Most of these individuals are indeed good candidates for drafting but they still have to prove themselves on a real mission. If they survive, and that's a big IF considering their duties, I'll have them run through the Army Training course. You'll be the one to supervise them."

"Understood, General." Rima answered and Koleen could her the reluctance in her voice. The Captain saluted before turning around to leave. Koleen, however, found herself staring at the woman's backside until the door blocked the very pleasant view.

"Kin. Where's my tea?"

KN-210, a GG-class Serving Droid, walked out of the shadows and placed a tray with a cup and a kettle on the desk before pouring the General her cup of tea. Koleen grabbed the cup and took in it's fragrant smell before drinking. She set it down and looked at the service droid.

"Thank you, my dear. If you would kindly lock the door and go on standby, please?"

The service droid bowed before doing what it was told. After locking the door and going on standby mode in it's station, Koleen rose from her chair and made her way over to the bed. It would be a while before they reached Geonosis, until then she'll get some shuteye. The General took off her coat which was quickly followed by her shirt, pants, boots and undershirt. This left her in a pair of underwear that was certainly considered 'not up to regulations'. Despite the risque article of clothing, everyone whoever saw her in such a state of undress were actually not looking at her 'assets' but rather the myriad of scars all over her body.

Fathers were meant to take care of their children to the best of their ability, unfortunately for her, she got the short straw so to speak. Her 'father' was abusive, controlling and perverse. But Koleen was not one to bow her head and succumb. She fought every chance she could get but the bastard loved it when they squirm. Especially if they screan. Just ask her sisters. It wasn't until she was fifteen that their father had an unfortunate 'accident' one night and broke his neck. From then on, whoever crosses her and her sisters always end up in 'accidents'. This carried on even when she joined the Imperial Army. Her late Commanding Officer was an example of that.

Koleen sighed as she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Unconsciously, her hand was playing with the pendant on her neck. A pendant given to her by her youngest sister before she met her untimely demise in the Death Star. There will be hell to pay. Order through the galaxy will be restored and she'll be damned if these Rebel scum cause further chaos in it. Chaos in the guise of freedom. Freedom they promise to the people. Nothing more than a farce. How despicable.


	4. Galactic Conquest: Imperial Army Ch 4

Private Dima Solomon took deep breaths as he tried to calm himself but his hands refused to stop shaking. They had reached Geonosis nearly two hours ago and as soon as they dropped out of hyperspace, they were immediately engaged in a space battle by a Rebel blockade. A single Lucrehulk-class Battleship, a MC80 Liberty Star Cruiser, two Nebulon-B Frigates and CR70 Frigates. By then, they had figured out that the blockade was the reason why they can't get a hold of the 562nd. The Judicator, it's sister ship the Executioner, and their three escorts launched all TIE Fighters and the rare TIE Interceptors to battle it out against the Rebel's own Starfighters. TIE Bombers were sent out to perform bombing runs on the enemy ships while 8th Regiment Marine Raiders were sent to board said ships via TIE Boarding Crafts with the intent of damaging the Rebel ships inside.

Halfway into the battle, Agent Kovak and her ship, the Crusader, dropped out of hyperspace and right in the enemy's left flank. Surprised by the Bureau Agent's sudden appearance, the Juror managed to take out one of the Nebulon-B frigates. Due to the fact that the Marine Raiders that boarded the frigate had taken out it's shield generator and disable it's armaments, it didn't take too much effort from the Crusader to destroy it after the Marine Raiders were extracted from the frigate. With the destruction of one frigate, the 8th Regiment saw an opening and were having the Conscripts board the Lambda-class T-4a Shuttles. They would be the ones deployed first before the rest of the 8th Regiment's Army Troopers. Lucky them, right?

"This shuttle smells like Stormtroopers."

Dima stopped staring at his shaking hands and looked to the Conscript that spoke up.

"At least Stormtroopers have weapons. Where the hell is ours?" Another Conscript added.

"Weren't you listening? They already sent a company of Shock Troopers down there to secure a foothold. Once we get there, they'll be the ones to give us our blasters."

"What a load of bullshit."

This got a round of laughter from the Conscripts until their platoon commander stepped down from the cockpit.

"Quiet. All of you! We're almost to the surface."

The Conscripts shut their mouths and held onto their seats as they felt the transport shake. Silence fell upon them until they felt the shuttle land and hear the pilot inform them that they'll be disembarking through their helmet's built-in comlink. The ramp slowly lowered and the Conscripts were quickly greeted by the sounds of blasterfire and the sight of blaster bolts zipping through the air. Once the ramp fully lowered, the Platoon Commander began barking at them to leave the shuttle.

"Go! Go! Go! Outside, you worthless scum! Form a line and prepare to receive your weapons. Move!"

The Conscripts did as they were told and ran down the ramp before forming a line. Once outside, Dima could see what was going on in the battlefield. The Shock Troopers had set up a barrier close to where the shuttles had landed and were aiming their weapons at the distance but weren't firing them. He could see Army Troopers who he guessed must be the soldiers from the 562nd there as well. Most of them were being treated in a Triage Center away from the enemy's line-of-sight while those who weren't wounded were taking cover behind the barriers and some looking through macrobinoculars at the enemy's position. A bunker with a hangar to it's left where the enemy artillery was stationed. There was also another bunker in the middle of the field and a trench network which were filled with Rebels.

Dima nearly jumped when he heard the loud explosions of the enemy's artillery hitting the field in front of them. He could already see the Conscripts that had received their weapons, standard E-11 blasters, take cover behind barriers while their Platoon Commanders ordered them to hold steady and not to return fire yet. Dima's platoon soon joined them behind the barriers. As he looked at the Conscripts around him, he could see it in their eyes and their body. They were scared. Terrified. Some were visibly shaking, one was even huddled up by a rock and muttering to himself as the artillery intensified. One artillery round struck a transport shuttle that was in the middle of dropping off it's Conscripts, destroying the shuttle and killing it's passengers in a fiery explosion. Those who managed to get out in time weren't safe either and were caught in the artillery round's blast zone and sent them flying. Dima found himself breathing heavily and gripped his E-11 tightly close to his chest. He was going to die. They were all going to die.

"Hold steady, men. Steady!"

His Platoon Commander, an Officer wearing the standard Officer's armor with the addition of a trench coat, yelled at his men.

He didn't know how long they waited but the artillery slowly decreased in intensity until they stopped altogether. All was quiet but that didn't ease the Conscripts one bit. Then they saw it. The signal. A red flare slowly descending from the sky.

"ADVANCE!!"

The Conscripts let out a battle cry as they charged into the field. Dima vaulted over the barrier and matched his comrades pace. The Conscripts ran, yelling out battle cries or insults at the Rebels yet something felt wrong. There was no blasterfire aside from the Conscripts who were firing their blasters in the air for no reason. Shouldn't the Rebels be shooting them right about now?

The answer came when one of the Conscripts stepped on something that made a click which was quickly followed by an explosion a second later. Before the Conscripts could react, more stepped on hidden land mines strewn about on the field. Decimating chunks of the Conscripts. Screams were drowned out by the sounds of explosions before the roar of blasters joined in as the Rebels inside the bunker in the middle of the field and the trenches opened fire on the Conscripts. A few of the Conscripts took cover behind some rock formations and returned fire while others went prone and placed their hands over their heads. Too scared to shoot back.

"Mama! Mama!"

"Make it stop. Please!"

"Where's my leg? I can't find my leg!"

"Aaagghh!"

Amongst the chaos, Dima lost his blaster when someone grabbed him and threw him behind cover. The Conscript looked to the person who threw him to cover and saw another Conscript but this one was different from the others. This particular Conscript was a former Army Trooper Sergeant that was court-martialed for shooting an Officer in the back. This was Sergeant Petyr Kaz.

"Stay close, kid. And try not to die." The disgraced Sergeant stated before firing his weapon at the Rebels. Dima looked away from the Sergeant and turned back to the battlefield. A lone Conscript with his right arm blown off was looking for something on the ground before picking up a severed arm. He turned around to run for cover but a hail of blaster bolts tore through his body before he could even take one step.

Meanwhile, one of the Conscripts pinned down turned to the others around him.

"Retreat! Fall back!"

"Fall back!" A second Conscript yelled as he got off the ground only to catch a blaster bolt to the neck but this didn't stop the Conscripts, except for a select few, to turn tail and flee.

"Run for it!"

"Out of the way!"

"Go!"

Some ran faster than the others. A few even went as far as shoving someone in front of them down or using them as meat shields though that wouldn't matter in the end.

Dima moved to run as well but Kaz stopped him by grabbing his arm and roughly shoving him back to cover.

"You run back there, you're dead, kid."

"If we stay here we die!" The Private replied.

"Then we die either way."

Dima turned away from Kaz to look towards the retreating backs of the fleeing Conscripts. Back to the landing zone where the Shock Troopers had set up a perimeter, Captain Venk Zolin scowled at the sight of the retreating Conscripts before unholstering his RK-3 Blaster Pistol.

"You are soldiers of the Empire. Turn back and fight damn you!"

Even though they heard it, the retreating Conscripts kept running towards the Shock Troopers. Zolin sneered and nodded at the Shock Trooper next to him who proceeded to set up an E-Web turret. The Captain turned to the Conscripts once more.

"This is your last chance. Turn back and fight or die. Cowards and traitors will be shot!"

Though a few stopped in their tracks when they saw the E-Web and the Shock Troopers aiming at them but the majority kept going. Zolin grunted in annoyance and turned to the Shock Trooper manning the E-Web.

"Fire."

Without hesitation, the gunner did as he was told. The E-Web roared as it sent a storm of blaster bolts towards the fleeing Conscripts. The Shock Troopers didn't hesitate to pull the trigger of their DLT-19 Heavy Blasters and gunned down the Conscripts before they got too close. Those who didn't joined the retreat but stopped turned back and ran to the front lines. From the Triage Center and the barriers, the soldiers of the 562nd watched in horror as the 8th Regiment gunned down their own soldiers for retreating.

The retreating Conscripts screamed. It was all they can do as the Shock Troopers gunned them down. From his spot, Dima paled at the sight of his fellow Conscripts get killed simply for retreating. They were all going to die. Either by the Rebel's or their own Commanding Officer's hand.

"I told you." Dima looked to Kaz who simply watched the slaughter happen without so much as an emotion "We all die either way."

The Conscript next to Kaz fell back as a blaster bolt from the Rebels struck him in the neck. The disgraced Sergeant grabbed the dead man's E-11 and handed it to Dima.

"If you wanna die then at least die fighting." Kaz popped out of cover and fired his weapon at the Rebels.

Dima looked up at the Sergeant then down to his weapon before holding it correctly. Gripping the blaster tightly, Dima stood up and aimed at the distance before pulling ghe trigger. Red streaks flew back and fort between the Rebels and the remainder of the Conscripts.

~Line Break~

Captain Zolin walked around the bodies of the Conscripts on the dirt ground and made sure they were dead by shooting them in the head. The Shock Troopers did the same. Seeing that none of them were still alive, Zolin turned to his second, Lieutenant Abram Felo who was looking at the scene with a neutral expression.

"The main force is awaiting for our report. Tell them that the Rebels are holed up in two bunkers, trenches and a hangar. The field is covered with land mines but the Conscripts have taken care of it. Also, inform the General that the cowards and traitors have been dealt with."

"Understood, Captain." The Lieutenant left to inform the General.

"Now for the rest of you." Zolin turned to the Shock Troopers "Link up with the Conscripts and get to those trenches. I don't care how you do it. Just do it." He then pointed at the Shock Trooper manning the E-Web "You. Stay here and kill anyone, Trooper or Conscript, who falls back. No exceptions."

The Shock Trooper nodded while the rest of them left without a word. The Captain stood impassive behind the Shock Trooper manning the turret. Ready to take over himself if the Trooper were to be shot dead. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Abram watched them go with disgust before taking out a holoprojector and contacting the General. A moment later, General Margath's hologram appeared and Abram saluted.

"General Margath. Lieutenant Abram here to report the situation planetside."

"Proceed."

"We have found the remainder of the 562nd and placed them in the Triage Center and guard duty. The Rebels are holed up in two bunkers. One in the middle of the field and on the far side north of us as well as a hangar. They also have a network of trenches in the field, ma'am."

"Anything else?"

"They have access to artilleries, General. And land mines."

"I'm glad the Conscripts were sent in then. I'm sure they handled disabling those mines fairly easy."

When Abram didn't respond, Koleen narrowed her eyes at the Lieutenant.

"Lieutenant Abram Felo. What happened?"

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Abram told the General everything.

"Captain Zolin had ordered the Conscripts to leave their mine detectors and defusal kits back in th Judicator. He said we didn't need them. The Conscripts made it halfway into the field before they stepped on the land mines. Then the Rebels opened fire on them. They were pinned down and retreated but Captain Zolin did not order any retreat and gave the Shock Troopers permission to open fire on the 'cowards and traitors'. He's ordered the Shock Troopers to link up with the Conscripts who did not flee and told them to find a way to the trenches, General."

"And the land mines."

"He told me to tell you that the Conscripts took care of it."

"...He used them as a way to clear the mines, didn't he?"

Abram didn't need to answer and just by looking at the General's look, she already knew the answer.

"I'll have words with him later but he did follow my orders that cowards and traitors will be shot on sight." The General shook her head "Once the main force arrives on the ground, we'll be setting up a Command Post as soon as possible. In the meantime, Lieutenant Abram, you'll be staying here until we arrive. Captain Zolin no longer has need of your services but I do."

"Understood, General."

~Line Break~

"Thirty seconds!"

Rima looked down on the battlefield as the LAAT/i made it's way down to the landing zone. There were three more next to the transport she was in and together, the four Laarties carried the Army Troopers of 4th Company. A squad of eight Laarties flew behind them but these transports carried groups of Conscripts instead. More transports followed behind, carrying 1st, 2nd and 3rd Company with 1st Company being led by General Margath herself and composed of her Storm Guards. Once 1st to 4th Company land and deploy their Troopers, 5th to 10th Company will soon follow. Then 1st Heavy Cavalry Battalion, ferried by Gozanti-class Cruisers, would land planetside and act as the second wave. The 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion would then arrive and set up a base of operations while the 1st Artillery Brigade would set up themselves near the base and provide fire support for the infantry and armour. Or at least that was the plan until X-Wings from the remaining Rebel blockade entered the atmosphere and began shooting down the Laarties.

"What the hell is going on out there!?" Rima roared into her comlink as she held onto the side of the LAAT.

"We got enemy fighters on our tail! I can't shake them. Hold on to something, people. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

As soon as the pilot finished, one of the LAAT's engine exploded and sent the transport crashing towards the ground. The Army Troopers were thrown about the compartment as the pilot tried to steady the out of control transport.

"We're going down! We're going down! Everybody hang on!"

Unfortunately, the warning came to late as one of the Troopers was sent flying right into Rima and sent them slamming to the back of the Laarty before everything went dark for her.

~Line Break~

General Koleen Margath kept a stoic face as the side doors of the Laarty slid open and the Army Troopers jumped out. She did the same albeit in a more composed manner and calmly made her way over to Lieutenant Abram despite the fact that blaster bolts were whizzing past her head and the transports falling from the sky and crashing into the ground. While walking, Koleen clasped her hands behind her back before standing straight as Lieutenant Abram and a squad of Conscripts around him saluted. She nodded her head at them before facing Abram.

"Sitrep."

"Captain Zolin is still 'keeping an eye' on cowards from his position. He refused to acknowledge that you're here."

"And what about these men?"

Abram looked over his shoulder at the squad of Conscripts before facing the General once more.

"They were part of 4th Company's attached Conscripts. Their transport crashed near the landing zone and I rallied whatever's left of their platoon. I had them stay hear and await for your arrival and orders, General."

"Good work, Lieutenant." Koleen commented before looking out into the battlefield.

She took out her DC-17m ICWS which was set in it's sniper configuration. The General magnified her aim with the help of the holographic visor on her headset comlink. In the distance, she could see the Rebels inside the bunker in the middle of the field. From what she saw, they were using Mark II Medium Repeating Blasters to pin down the Shock Troopers and Conscripts. She could also see the ones on the trench next to the bunker firing their weapons as well. Koleen hummed as she lowered her weapon and looked up at the sky. They need the Heavy Cavalry if they want to advance but those artilleries would be a problem as well as those X-Wings. They could target the AT-ATs and those cannons pack quite the punch. That is IF the cruisers get past the blockade. Koleen looked to the side where she could see the beginnings of a path before looking to where the smoke of what she assumed to be one of their Laarties that got shot down.

"Lieutenant Abram. Get two squads of Shock Troopers and a squad of Army Troopers." Koleen ordered without taking her eyes away from the black pillar of smoke. She had a feeling that was Rima's Laarty. Hopefully, the redhead was still alive. Not a lot of good soldiers left out there, especially one she could trust "Head over to that path and see if you can locate Captain Aki and the platoon she was riding with."

"And if they didn't survi-"

"Retrieve their ID Tags. They will be remembered. We'll come back for the bodies once this blasted mission is over."

"Understood, General."

Abram left along with the squad of Conscripts he was with to gather the team the General requested. Koleen watched them go before turning to the remaining Army Troopers of 4th Company that managed to safely reach the landing zone. She could see Sergeant Jayce Luxem was barking orders at the Troopers though harsher and louder than usual. She would bet that hearing Captain Aki's transport was shot down had something to do with that. She remembered reading the report on the clusterfuck that was Felucia.

The 116th Imperial Armoured Division lost contact for months and a series of unfortunate events that led to the division splitting in two groups. One remaining loyal to the Empire and the other claiming that the Empire abandoned them. Add to the fact that everything on the planet and the planet itself seemed intent on killing them and the reports of fighting 'savage' Rebels that killed their soldiers in gruesome ways and without any contact outside of the planet. She could see why such a tragedy happened. Then the remaining survivors of the Division went back to the fight as soon as their numbers replenished but mission after mission, the original soldiers of the Division slowly dwindled until only Rima, Jayce and Jim were left. Everyone else in the Division were new and different faces which were quickly replaced when another dies in the next mission. Tragic indeed.

Shaking her head and focusing on the here and now, Koleen made her way over to the Sergeant.

~Line Break~

"Sergeant Luxem."

Jayce straightened and turned to face the General as she approached and saluted the woman.

"General."

"At ease, Sergeant." Koleen nodded her head before looking at the gathered Army Troopers "How many?"

"We lost one platoon, ma'am. Along with the Captain. I got about seventy Troopers here."

"It'll do." Koleen replied before turning her head to face the Sergeant "I've sent four squads to head for the crash and see if anyone survived. But if there are none, I had Lieutenant Abram retrieve their tags instead."

Jayce grimaced but nodded nonetheless. Shaking her head, the Sergeant looked at the General and asked for orders.

"I want you and your Troopers to reinforce the Shock Troopers and the Conscripts. See if you can find an opening to get to those trenches."

"Understood, General. Anything else?" Jayce asked.

"Does your Company have mortar teams?"

"Yes, ma'am." The Sergeant nodded before motioning her head towards the Army Troopers carrying the Mortars and their tripods "We got DF-90 Mortars and some old ones from the Republic. What's the plan?"

"Set them up just behind the front line. Have them focus fire on the trenches. I got a look at the trenches and it looks like it leads to the bunker. Take out the Rebels in the trenches and have your Company move in to get in that bunker. The rest of us will try and draw the bunker's fire."

"Will do, General. Leave those bastards to us."

It didn't take a genius to see that the Sergeant wanted revenge and she would be glad to let her do just that.

"Good. I'll assemble 1st to 3rd Company. Good luck, Sergeant."

Koleen turned and walked away, followed by a fireteam of Storm Guards.

~Line Break~

Rima blinked her eyes open before narrowing them when she felt a heavy weight on top of her. The redhead pushed the weight off of her, Private Grimbel's body, and sat up to get a good look around her. The lights inside the Laarty were busted but the from outside light seeped through the open viewports of the side doors and she could see that bodies of the Army Troopers on her platoon were strewn about. Getting off the floor, Rima tried to find her E-22 only to see it half crushed underneath Private Bodo's body. She would've shook him awake had she not seen the Trooper's lifeless gaze blankly ahead of him and the weird angle his neck was in. Shaking her head, she pulled her blaster free from underneath him and made his way over to Garm who was beginning to wake up. Rima knelt down in front of the Combat Engineer and lightly slapped his cheek.

"Hey, kid. Wakey-wakey."

Garm groaned and pushed her hand away before muttering 'five more minutes, mom' to the Captain much to her amusement.

"Glad to know you see me that way, sweetie. But I suggest you get your lazy ass off the floor before mommy kicks you off."

"H-Huh?"

Rima grinned as Garm slowly opened his eyes and got a good look at his surroundings.

"Captain? Ugh." Garm put a hand to his temple. Wait. Where was his helmet? The young Engineer shook his head and looked back at Rima "What happened?"

"We got shot down and crashed to fuck knows where. Some of our guys are dead and ain't moving. Come on. Up your feet. Help me find the ones that are still alive."

Rima stood up and grabbed Garm by the arm before easily pulling him up to his feet. Together the two began waking up those who survived the crash. Rima tried contacting the pilots but all she got was static on their end. Sighing, she called for two Troopers to help her force the side door open.

"One. Two. Three!"

The slid the side door with effort and immediately brought their arms over their eyes to shield themselves from the glaring sun. Rima grimaced before lowering her goggles over her eyes to protect her vision from the sun. The Captain climbed out first and checked her surroundings. They crashed in clearing and she could still hear the roars of blasters in the distance albeit a whisper though. At least they weren't too far off. Rima turned around as the remainder of her platoon got out of the transport which included Garm and six others.

'Damn.' Rima cursed in her thoughts 'Barely half survived the crash. We'll just have to make do.'

"Did you retrieve their tags?" The redhead asked the young Engineer who replied with a nod and patted his pack. Nodding, Rima turned to face the Troopers.

"Find whatever weapons you can salvage in the transport. Heavy Blasters, Rocket Launchers, anything."

"What about Heavy Weapons like E-Web turrets and Mortars?" One of the Troopers, Dietrich, asked.

"If it survived, take it. Otherwise leave it. We travel light."

"Shouldn't we link up with the rest of the Regiment?" It was Garm who asked this time.

"That depends. You know where they are?"

"Uh... no, ma'am."

"Pity." Rima sighed "That would've made things a little easier."

The Army Troopers went back inside to retrieve any salvageable weapons and equipment they can find. A few of them traded their blasters for heavy blasters while one grabbed a rocket launcher. By her order, the Troopers also retrieved the bodies and lay them outside of the downed Laarty. Even the pilots. They placed cloaks over their bodies and lay their weapons above their heads. Rima shook her head at the sight of twenty four covered corpses of their fellow Troopers. What a fucking disaster... but they still have to leave. She thought about firing a flare to signal their location but the smoke coming from the Laarty was doing that for them. Besides, she wanted to get a move on. No sense staying in this place waiting for an ambush.

"Alright, you shitheads." Rima called out after their moment of silence has passed "Time to go. Gunn, take point. Beesley. Pilano. You two cover the rear. Garm, keep that M-45 Repeating Blaster at the ready. Provide suppressing fire or just tear the bastards apart. Whatever floats your boat. Volker, do the same with your DLT-19. Vell, stick close to me. You're our only Medic right now and we can't afford to loose you. Dietrich, shoulder that HH-12. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some Rebels patrolling with armour along the way."

"Even if we have this, can we really take on enemy armour, ma'am?" The Trooper carrying the rocket launcher asked. The response she got was a shrug.

"Iunno."

"Great." Dietrich sighed which got a laugh from the Captain before she turned serious.

"Alright, Mud Skulls. Let's get the hell outta here."

The Troopers obeyed silently as they went into formation before leaving the area. No use standing around with their fingers up their asses considering the rest of the Regiment was probably fighting. Besides, the Regiment has no time to search for one crashed transport right?

~Line Break~

"Jayce!"

The Sergeant stopped shooting and ducked back down to cover and turned her head to see Jim crawling over to her. She couldn't blame him. With the rate the Rebels were firing their blasters, it's amazing how the Company and attached Conscripts weren't lying dead on the ground along with the first wave. There were dead bodies and some limbs here and there but she wasn't sure whether these guys were the Company's Conscripts or not.

"What is it, Jim?"

"Mortars are set up and ready to fire. They need us to mark their targets."

Jayce turned away from Jim and looked over the rock she was using as cover. Pulling out her binocs, she looked to the distance and marked the trenches before calling in a mortar barrage.

"Coordinates received. Barrage inbound."

The Sergeant kept her binocs at the trenches and waited for the mortar rounds to hit. A few seconds later, the barrage struck, halting the blasterfire coming from the trenches but not the bunker. Damn thing was sturdy as a starship. At least it lessened the blaster bolts sailing over their heads. Giving them a little breather. Jayce watched the barrage proceed before lowering her binocs and turned away to look at Jim only to see him dragging a Conscript to cover.

"I got ya, buddy. I got ya."

"I can't see! Oh, God. I can't see! I'm blind!"

"You're not blind. There's just some dirt over your eyes. You're fine."

Try as he might but the Conscript wouldn't stop flailing and Jim was having a hard time wiping the mix of blood and dirt off the man's eyes because of it.

"I'm blind!"

"Hold still. You're gonna be fine."

Despite the Medic's attempts to reassure the Conscript, the man kept yelling. This, of course, annoyed the Sergeant greatly.

"Oh for fuck's sakes." Jayce muttered.

The Sergeant moved over and decked the screaming Conscript in the face, knocking him out before wiping the dirt off of the Conscript's eyes. Jim just gave her a look to which she replied with a shrug.

"What? He ain't blind anymore and he stopped screaming, didn't he? Problem solved."

"You just dislocated his jaw." The Medic deadpanned.

"It was dislocated before... probably."

Jim sighed before moving to return the jaw in place and look the Conscript over for any injuries. Jayce huffed before looking over to the landing zone and saw the soldiers from 1st to 3rd Company heading towards them. In the sky, transports carrying the Troopers and Conscripts of 5th to 10th Company were flying down towards the landing zone though the enemy Starfighters were making their landing harder.

'Reinforcements. Fucking finally.'

~Line Break~

Koleen dropped to a slide and stopped next to Sergeant Luxem and Corporal Namba who were taking cover behind some rocks along with a few wounded Troopers and Conscripts. Her Storm Guards not far behind.

"Fancy seeing you here, General."

"Likewise, Sergeant. Corporal." She nodded at Namba before turning back to Jayce "5th to 10th Company will arrive in a bit. We need to get in those trenches and take those Rebels out. Did you see any way to get to them?"

"But ma'am. Why can't we just wait for the Artillery Brigade and Heavy Cavalry to arrive? They can handle this no problem." Jim asked.

"The Artillery Brigade and Heavy Cav can't leave the ships without getting fired upon. They're a big target up there. Chances are, the Rebels would have their blockade intercept and take them out. If that happens, we won't have any support left."

"Damn it." Jayce cursed before looking at the General "What's our plan of attack then 'cause I sure as hell can't see a way to safely get in those trenches. It's either we risk the support or we risk the men by charging in and just jumping down the trenches. Those Mark IIs will tear us apart out there."

Koleen didn't answer but instead looked over their cover and into the distance. The mortars were doing their job and the Rebels couldn't fire back as mortar rounds rained from the sky. Some even struck the trench itself. The barrage at least managed to drive the Rebels out of the first trench so they don't have to worry about them shooting back. She looked up and saw the TIE Fighters and Interceptors going toe-to-toe with the Rebel X-Wings and A-Wings. So far, no Bombers from both sides have reached planetside yet so that's both good and bad. Hopefully, neither side would. Koleen then set her sights back to the trench and narrowed her eyes, trying to think of a plan until...

"Troopers!"

Koleen, Jayce and Jim turned their heads to look at the speaker and saw Major Van Zandt standing atop a rock formation. K-16 Bryar Pistol pointed at the enemy in the distance.

"The enemy is weakened and hide like cowards! The might of the Empire has dropped them to their knees and have them shaking in fear. Now is our chance, comrades. Go forth and don't stop. Fear no enemy. Death to the Rebel scum. Charge!"

Van Zandt jumped off the rock and charged, blaster pistol roaring as he fired.

"URAA!"

The Troopers and Conscripts of the 8th Regiment ran out of their cover and charged towards the Rebels with a battle cry. Bright red blaster bolts sailed across the field as they fired their weapons at the Rebels. The bunker returned fire but it did not deter the Regiment from their charge regardless of casualties. Koleen sighed and shook her head before giving the other two a smirk.

"Well you heard the man."

The trio then vaulted over their cover and joined the charge with a battle cry of their own.

"URAA!"

Behind them, 5th to 10th Company followed closely after the General. They had taken heavy casualties on their way down the planet, lowering their numbers when they reached the landing zone but this did not stop them from joining the charge. After all, what's a better morale booster than seeing your General fight alongside you? Especially in a suicidal charge led by a probably senile Major.

~Line Break~

Major Kato Van Zandt grit his teeth as he made his way over to the trenches. Barely keeping up with the charge. As much as he wanted to shoot down some Rebel scum, his bones were another story. Perhaps he was getting too old but if he retired, no one else can maintain the discipline and loyalty of the 8th Regiment. Not like the way he does it anyway. But he's still a soldier of the Empire and he'll be damned if he died from old age and not fighting where he would have given his all. So with a roar, Van Zandt quickened his pace until he was among the first of the Troopers to reach the trench. Luckily, the mortars have stopped firing when they got close to the trenches to avoid hitting their own men but this also meant that the Rebels had rallied enough to regroup and fire at them.

To the Rebels' surprise, rather than stand atop of the trench and fire down on them or stop and drop to cover or do the more sensible thing and throw a Thermal Detonator, Van Zandt instead jumped down and slammed right into a Rebel infantry. Grunting, Van Zandt pointed his blaster pistol on the Rebel's abdomen and pulled the trigger, causing the man to scream. The Major got off the Rebel, aimed his blaster to the man's head and pulled the trigger. Putting a hole in the man's forehead.

While this happened, the rest of the Troopers with him had followed the Major's example and jumped down the trench. The Troopers, rather than use their blasters, used their fists and fought the Rebels in hand-to-hand combat. Among these Troopers was Jayce.

The Sergeant struggled against a much larger opponent as he pushed her against the wall. Gritting her teeth, Jayce spat into the Rebel's eye before kneeing him in the groin. As the man keeled over, she grabbed him by the head and slammed him against the wall. He fell to his knees but Jayce punched him in the temple and his head bounced against the same wall before the Sergeant grabbed him by the hair and bashed his brains in.

"Still think you're tough, you piece of shit?"

The Rebel limped and his body slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood. Jayce sneered before picking up her E-10 then proceeded to take off the glowrod. She then took out a long knife and attached it to where the glowrod used to be. Bayonet secured, Jayce charged at the closest Rebel she could find who just so happened to be fighting against Jim. With a roar, she buried the bayonet deep into the Rebel's back before twisting it and harshly wretching it out. The Medic then punched the screaming Rebel across the face and sent him face down on the ground. Jim picked up his E-11 and gave Jayce a look.

"Did you really have to do that?"

The answer he got was a simple shrug before the Sergeant let out another roar and charged towards her next victim. Jim watched her go before shaking his head and followed after her.

"I knew I should've given her something else. Maybe a stuffed R2 unit."

Meanwhile, Koleen grit her teeth as she held a Twi'lek in a sleeper hold. The purple skinned Rebel struggled against her hold before settling on punching the General on the head. Koleen cursed before tightening her hold and felt the Rebel began to lessen her struggling. A few moments later, the Twi'lek limped and Koleen didn't waste time in snapping the Rebel's neck. The General stood up and looked at her surroundings. The trench didn't give them a lot of room and the piling bodies of both Imperial and Rebel didn't help either. She heard a scream behind her and turned around to see one of her Storm Guards twisting a Rebel's arm painfully before pulling out his RSKF-44 and used it to slug the man across the face. The Storm Guard didn't let the Rebel go even as he aimed the Heavy Blaster Pistol on the Rebel's head. He pulled the trigger and the Rebel went limp before the Storm Guard carelessly threw the body to the side then made his way over to the General while holstering the blaster pistol.

"General, the trenches are too tightly packed. Requesting permission to escort you out and back to the LZ, ma'am."

"Negative, GS-534. I'll be staying with the Troopers to fight."

Her eyes then spotted the discarded weapon on the ground and squatted down to pick it up. She gave the SX-21 Scatterblaster a once over before pumping the forestock of the weapon then nodded the Storm Guard.

"Let's go."

Without warning, the Storm Guard quickly raised his blaster pistol at the General and pulled the trigger. The blaster bolts shot out of the blaster's twin barrels and whizzed past Koleen's cheek. The General then heard it make contact with something followed by a grunt of pain from behind her and quickly turned around to see a Wookiee Warrior staggering back while holding the wound on it's shoulder. Not wasting any time, Koleen fired her weapon pointblank into the Wookiee's chest. The walking rug fell back and the Storm Guard walked over to it before shooting it in the head for good measure. Koleen nodded her thanks before rejoining the fight.

Back to the Sergeant, Jayce sneered as she twisted her weapon before pulling the bayonet out of a Rebel's chest. She looked to her right and saw a pathway that lead up to the bunker but it was filled with Rebels who were taking careful shots at them while trying to avoid hitting one of their own.

"Moorcroft!" Jayce yelled out to the Army Troopers "Light those bastards up!"

An Army Trooper carrying an incinerator kit ran towards the Sergeant before firing his flamethrower at the Rebels guarding the bunker.

"Burn! Hahaha! Burn!"

The Rebels screamed as they were engulfed in flames that licked every inch of their skin. Those who ran towards Jayce were immediately gunned down while the rest tried to roll on the floor to put the fires out but to no avail. The flames seared their skin and the smell of burning flesh struck Jayce's nostrils, making her put on her oxygen mask to filter the smell out. Once the last of the flames died down and the Rebels stopped screaming, Jayce called for three other Army Troopers along with Moorcroft.

"Short. Jenk. Fundis. Moorcroft." Jayce waited for the Troopers to gather before pointing at the bunker's door "Breach open that door and have Moorcroft cook those bastards inside. Go! Go!"

The Troopers quickly made their way to the door before taking positions, unaware that one of the Rebels, despite the severe burns across his body, was still alive and holding a his blaster tightly. It was only when the burnt Rebel let out a yell as he stood up and shot the tanks on Moorcroft's back did they realize he was still alive but by then it was already too late. The blaster bolt struck the fuel tanks of Moorcroft's flamethrower and he, along with the Troopers and burnt Rebel, were engulfed by a fiery explosion.

"Holy fuck!"

Jayce shielded her eyes from the sudden explosion before lowering her arm to see that nothing was left of the Troopers but burnt corpses that still had flames on their bodies. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Jim looking down at her with worry.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm good." Jayce replied before letting Jim help her up her feet "What about you?"

She motioned at his limp left arm and the Medic replied with a one arm shrug.

"Don't worry. I took care of it but I won't be using it for a while."

"What happened?"

"You know I was never good at Close Quarters Combat."

"Fair enough." She then turned and pointed at the bunker's entrance "Over there's our way in the bunker. My plan was for Moorcroft to light the fuckers up once the door's out of the way but... well you can see the results right?"

Jim looked away from her and grimaced at the sight of burnt corpses by the door.

"Know anyone else with a flamethrower in the platoon?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Pity."

"Look out!"

The two turned around and raised their weapons when they saw one of the Conscripts tackle a Rebel soldier to the ground. The Conscript, a young man, moved to punch the Rebel but his fist was caught before it could land and his opponent retaliated with a headbutt. The larger man quickly grabbed the Conscript by the collar and lifted him up with ease.

"Hey!"

The Rebel turned to face the speaker only for a blaster bolt to strike him right in the forehead. He immediately lets the young Conscript go before his body fell limply to the ground. The Conscript breathed heavily before looking up to the Sergeant and Medic to see them walking over to him. Jim quickly looked him over before helping the Conscript up to his feet.

"Name and rank, soldier?"

"Uh, D-Dima, sir. Private Dima Solomon."

"Alright, Dima. Next time you want to tackle someone, make sure they're not bigger than you. Understand? Oh, and that was Doctor's orders."

Jim gave the young man a pat on the shoulder before handing the Conscript his blaster. Meanwhile, Jayce was still trying to ask if anyone had a flamethrower before shaking her head and turned around towards the Troopers of her Company.

"Kord. Peyton. Front and center!"

Two Army Troopers stopped shooting at the Rebels and quickly made their way over to the Sergeant.

"Kord. Here."

"Peyton. At the ready. Orders, ma'am?"

"See that door over there?" She pointed at the bunker's entrance "Help me breach that door open. We need to clear that bunker and silence those guns. Peyton, get a detonator on that door. Kord, as soon as that door gets blasted open, throw a flash grenade. Jim, Solomon and I will go in first then the two of you follow. Understand?"

Receiving affirmative nods from the four, she motioned for the door and Peyton immediately ran over and placed a Thermal Detonator on it. Kord took out a flash grenade from his belt and primed it while Jayce, Jim and Dima aimed their weapons at the door. Moments passed by and the Detonator's beeping grew faster before it exploded, blasting the door open and giving them a way in. Kord quickly threw the primed flash grenade in which was quickly followed by a loud bang and a flash.

Jayce was the first one to enter and quickly shot a disoriented Rebel in the chest twice before shooting him in the head for good measure. A staggering Rebel crossed her path and she grabbed him by the head before slamming it hard on the wall, hearing a loud crack as the man's head made contact with the wall. She quickly took out the gunners of the Mark II Medium Repeating Blasters but was unaware of the Rebel that was aiming his weapon at her. Fortunately, Jim was quick to take care of it with a quick shot to the head.

"Clear!"

Jayce lowered her weapon and looked at the dead bodies around her before looking at Jim.

"These guys were fewer than I expected."

"At least it's better than having more of them inside. I mean, five of us against who knows how many of them? I don't see the odds going in our favor." Jim replied with a shake of his head.

"Good point." Jayce conceded with a shrug "Alright, people. I want some Troopers here to set up a small base. A rally point. Maybe get the wounded brought over here. Peyton, contact the General and tell her we have the bunker."

"Ma'am... we have a problem."

Jayce turned to Peyton who was slamming the built-in comlink of his helmet.

"I can't get a hold of them. I can't get a hold of anyone. All I'm getting us static."

"Mine too." Kord added.

Jayce tried hers and all she heard was static as well. She looked to Jim and all he did was shake his head as he lowered his hand from his helmet.

"They're jamming our comms."

~Line Break~

The Crusader

"Agent Kovak. We just lost communication with the planet."

"What?"

Liv Kovak turned away from the viewport to face the speaker.

"What do you mean we lost comms? What the bloody hell just happened?"

"It's the same thing that happened with the 562nd, ma'am. We can't get a line through the General or any ground units as well as our TIEs in the planet. They're jamming all communications inside the planet."

"Damn it." Liv cursed "What was the last update of the battle below?"

"They're taking over the trenches, ma'am."

"Trenches?" The ISB Agent rose an eyebrow at that before looking at the hologram of the planet on the holotable "What is going on down there?"

~Line Break~

"They're retreating!"

"Don't let up. Keep shooting!"

"Drive them out of the trenches!"

Koleen watched the Rebels retreat from the trenches while the Army Trooper, Shock Troopers and Conscripts gunned them down. She dropped to a crouch and raised her DC-17m ICWS and looked down the sights to see where the Rebels were retreating. It was obvious they were going for the hangar and bunker in the distance but she did not expect to see another set of trenches in front of the aforementioned bunker and hangar. It didn't look as large as the trench they were currently in now but it was still big. Who knows how many more of them are there?

"General."

Koleen lowered her weapon and looked over her shoulder as GS-534 walked over to her before turning around to face the Storm Guard.

"Yes?"

"All communications in and out of the planet are down, General. We can't contact the Judicator and the Crusader or their escorts. The Rebels are cutting off all our communications in and out of the planet. We can't even comm our soldiers."

"Damn. Now that's a bit of a problem, innit?" Koleen shook her head before composing herself "Anything else?"

"The bunker's been seized. The Troopers are gathering the dead and wounded as we speak. The Shock Troopers are scouring the trenches for any sign of the Rebels."

"Excellent. Now, where's Captain Zolin?"

"Dead, ma'am."

"Oh?" This made her raise a brow "What happened?"

"Shot in the back of the head but someone tried made it look like he was caught in the crossfire. Whoever did it, forgot that they left a trail when they dragged the body to the battlefield."

"And no one has noticed?".

"They were too busy fighting to care, ma'am."

Koleen hummed in thought. She had a pretty good idea on who might've killed the Captain but she wouldn't say. After all, it saved her the trouble of promoting Lieutenant Abram for the Conscript Company's Commander but that does beg the question.

"How many casualties did Zolin's Conscript take?"

"99.8%, General."

That was... less than she had hoped for.

"Who are the survivors?"

"Sergeant Petyr Kaz and Private Dima Solomon."

"Hmm." Lo and behold, Zolin's killer survived "Have them transferred to 4th Company for the time being. Surviving this ordeal has earned them a spot in the Regiment's regulars. Go and find them would you?"

"Of course. By your word, General."

"Dismissed."

Koleen nodded her head before turning away to look at the hangar and bunker in the distance. With communications out, there's no way to contact the Judicator nor the Crusader so that leaves them with no access to Orbital Strikes and no contact with the TIE Fighters leaving Air Support out of the question. The Artillery Brigade and 1st Heavy Cav would have a hard time getting down on the planet and if by some miracle they do, they still had no way of communicating with them through the comms. This mission could take a while before it's over. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long.

* * *

**_A/N: URRAAA! _**


End file.
